ROCKLIN, Calif. - Jessup baseball faced-off with the University of Antelope Valley Pioneers for the final game of the three-game series early Friday, looking to beat the rain forecasted. The Warriors would take the lead in just the first inning, which decided their fate in the 6-1 victory over the No. 7 Pioneers and 2-1 series advantage. 

Head coach Trevor Paine couldn't have asked for a better outcome in a Top-25 matchup, "Any time you can win a series you are pleased, but to do it against such a tough opponent makes it even better. I give credit to UAV, as they are a really good team and challenged us in a number of ways, but when we are at our best, we will continue to compete with anyone in the country."

Coming off a day one split, the Warriors looked to battle with a clean slate going into the final game of the series and it didn't take long as Jessup hit the scoreboard in the opening frame. With two on and one out, Joe Starick knocked the RBI single to right field followed by Swift coming in to score on a UAV error. 

The Warriors would ride the 2-0 lead through the top of the third before the Pioneers would push one across on a bock from starting pitcher Ashkhon Kuhaulua but a quick strikeout would end the inning. 

A pair of insurance runs would come to the Warriors in the bottom of the fifth as Cal Koga led things off with a walk and Jonathan Yu pushed him over to scoring position with a double down the left field line. Another walk would load the bases as Josh Duitsman hit the sacrifice fly bringing in pinch runner Grant Doi. Noah Shackles would keep it going with a single to right field as the Warriors increased their lead at the bottom of the frame, 4-1.

The final tally would come in same fashion, with two runs scored in the seventh. Starick would strike a lead-off double, advancing to third on a wild pitch and coming in to score from none other than Shackles with his own 2-RBI double.

"After yesterday's game I told the guys we played poorly, but the silver lining was we still had a chance to win the series," Paine said. "If we could string together 9 innings of good baseball I liked our chances." 

In the 6-1 win, senior Kuhaulua would record his second win of the season in the same number of appearances with 8 innings pitched and 7 strikeouts. In the box, the Warriors were led by Starick going 3-for-5, Shackles 2-for-4 with 3RBI's, Kawai Takamura hitting 2-for-4 and Yu going 2-for-3.

"We stress to our guys that we need to be able to win all different types of ball games. Today was a great test with the wind blowing in and the ball not jumping out of the yard. We had to compete and find ways to score runs and I thought we did a great job of that all the way through the order."

The Warriors, now 6-1 will continue their homestand next weekend as they host the University of Saint Katherine Friday and Saturday in a set of doubleheaders. 

"After our first two series, I am very encouraged by where we are at as a team," concluded Paine. "Our guys are starting to establish themselves in various roles and we are learning a lot about our roster. As we start to get healthy and clean up a few areas I think we can be a very tough team to beat moving forward."
   
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).