PHOENIX, Ariz. - The lady Warriors played their opening series of conference play at Arizona Christian locking their first two wins against the Firestorm backed by an impressive offensive performance and pitching behind junior Shelbi Graifman. 

The Warriors got ahead early in both games taking the 2-0 lead in the third inning of game one for the win and leaping to a 4-1 lead in the third in game two, to finish on top 7-4.

Bats were continuing to be a force for the Warriors with 8 hits in the first game, and 10 hits in the second. That spark was led by senior Kyla Cisneros who went 6-8 on the series; left on base twice, reaching home three times and bringing in one run.

"It's very important for our team to get off to a good start opening up conference play," head coach Kevin Amick said. "Prior to these games we have hit the ball very good. But we just have not been able to get the key hit, at the right time, to drive runs in."

In the third inning of game one, the Warriors scored their pair of runs in a solo inning off a throwing error to score Cisneros and Corina Salinas. 

Starting on the mound for the Warriors was Graifman (3-4) pitching a complete game only allowing one hit for the Firestorm with five strikeouts.

"We still struggled a little in the first game, but we had some great defensive plays and Shelbi threw a 1-hitter to give us the win," stated Amick.

Arizona would hit the board first in game two with a throwing error to score the unearned run in the bottom of the first. The Firestorm would the go silent until the fifth inning after the Warriors held the 5-1 advantage.

The third inning being their strongest of the day, the Warriors posted fours runs in the bottom of the frame led by Salinas with a double to left-center (1-1). Clarissa Blaquera would continue the rally with a single to score Salinas (2-1), followed by a two-run RBI by Alli Medina to close the inning up 4-1. 

Starting game two in the circle was Mariah Gonzalez (W, 2-3) who would take the win, exiting in the fourth inning, while Graifman came back in for the final 2.5 for her first save of the season.

Capitalizing on the Firestorm errors, the Warriors tacked on another run in the bottom of the fifth (5-1) and in the bottom of the sixth the final two runs would cross off singles from Cisneros and Blaquera for the final 7-4 win.

"In the second game we did a lot better job with moving runners on bases and getting some key hits. Corina and Kyla had key, timely hits in both games. They both had key at bats that helped us put two runs on the board in the sixth inning to seal the win," Coach Amick added. "Great defensive plays by Kyla and Ali shut down any chance of Arizona Christian coming back for a win."

The Warriors are back home this week, hosting their first two conference matchups; Friday, March 3rd against San Diego Christian and Saturday, March 4th taking on Hope International at Azevedo Park in Rocklin.

Amick looks forward to the competitive season ahead concluding, "As we head into this weekend home games we must stay aggressive at the plate, and make sure that runners are advanced once they are in scoring position. Conference games are just getting started, but every game is important for us to establish a strong position in a competitive Conference."

William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat).