LINCOLN, Calif. - The sun was out at McBean Park and the Warriors took advantage of the good weather giving the fans a great pair of games capped by a walk-off home run to secure the four-game sweep over St. Katherine advancing to 21-11 overall.
"It's difficult to sweep a four-game series, so today it was great to secure that win," head coach
Trevor Paine said of the two-day series.
Coming from behind in both contests, the Warriors would trail 2-0 in game one through the third inning before the fourth inning busted open for the home team. The two-out rally would be led by
Josh Duitsman who had an RBI single and
Noah Shackles followed with an RBI double to tie it up 2-2.
The final runs for the game would both come in the bottom of the frame as Jessup put up two in the sixth and two in the eighth.
Will Law would knock his first home run of the day as the Warriors took their first lead (4-2) and
Kawaiola Takemura would add a pair of insurance runs with a two-RBI single to seal the deal for the Warriors, 6-2.
Taking the mound for the Warriors in relief was
Jordan Yu who collected his second win of the season going four innings while striking out 6 of his 15 batters faced.
In game two
Kupono Decker would come in late for the Warriors to toe the rubber for the final two innings, shutting down the Firebirds holding them to no hits.
"I was really encouraged by some of the efforts we got on the mound today especially out of the bullpen. Velasquez and Yu were both great in game one," Paine went on to comment, "and Decker gave us two really big innings in game two."
Down 2-0 after the opening frame, Austin Swift would bridge the gap as he hit a long ball to make it 2-1. The next three innings would see a solo run from the Warriors but a four-run inning in the top of the fourth by the Firebirds would give them the 6-4 lead headed into the fifth inning.
Another run would be added by the Firebirds in the top of the following frame, and it was none other than Law who found his momentum with his fifth home run of the weekend, second on the day who got the Warriors within two, trailing just 4-6.
"It was good to see
Will Law have such a big weekend. He's a big part of the offense and when he gets going he can carry the team," Paine said.
A quick top of the seventh inning would leave the Warriors fate up to them as a runner on and one out would bring
Josh Duitsman up to bat. The junior would hit the game-winning home run with a walk-off as the Warriors secured the series sweep with an 8-7 victory.
Paine couldn't say enough about Duitsman's swing to end game two, "He put a great swing on a tuff pitch against a pitcher we weren't seeing very well. It was a really special moment for him and the team. It was a great series to get some momentum going into a very big conference series."
The Warriors head back to conference matchups the next two weekends as they face Hope International this next Friday and Saturday, start times for each game at 11 am.
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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).
