LINCOLN, Calif. – A sweep of the Sunbirds in Jessup's PacWest debut has gained the respect of the rest of the conference, as the Warriors were announced as the PacWest Team of the Week on Tuesday. The news comes congruent with Jessup moving into the top ten of the West Region rankings for the NCBWA.
The Warriors, competing in their first Division II campaign, are 7-0 to start the season following sweeps of Sonoma State and Fresno Pacific. Both series saw a split between home and away, with the Warriors posting a 4-0 record at McBean Park and a 3-0 tally away from Lincoln.
With the hot start, the Warriors have jumped to No. 9 in the West Region, per the latest NCBWA rankings released this week.
Pitching shined for Jessup in the early part of the series, as the Warriors held the Sunbirds to one run (unearned) across 16 innings at the notoriously hitter-friendly McBean Park. The bullpen was put to use in the two Monday games in Fresno, but Jessup managed to pull off comebacks in both games to steal victories.
Right-hander
Hailama Swartman earned the victory in game one of the series, logging 6.1 shutout innings in which he allowed just two hits. Swartman holds a 0.87 ERA through two starts this season.
Diego Chavez followed Swartman in game two with six innings of his own. Chavez picked up the win, allowing one unearned run on five hits.
The bullpen produced a save in all four games this weekend. Right-hander
Nolan Thebiay slammed the door shut in games one and three, piecing together three strikeouts across his outings.
Joey Miller collected the save in games two and four, striking out three as well.
Offensively, the Warriors were powered by a
Drew Andrews home run in game one, and then a pair of sixth-inning hits in game two capped off the doubleheader sweep at McBean.
Tony Otis hit his first Jessup home run in the eighth inning of game three, putting the Warriors on top for a 3-2 win, and then Jessup pulled together a comeback from down 7-0 in the finale to pull off the sweep.
A five-run fifth inning paved the way for Jessup to pull off the game-four comeback.
Jessup remains the only team in the PacWest with an undefeated overall record. They are joined by Westmont as the two teams to start 4-0 in conference play.
The Warriors will continue the PacWest season on Friday when they head south to take on Biola. The Eagles opened conference play by dropping three of four to Point Loma. The series will begin with an 11 a.m. first pitch on Friday.
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Jessup University is a provisional member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Instagram & X).
