WINFIELD, Kan. – A weather-induced change to the Southwestern College baseball schedule made it a two-game Friday afternoon at Broadway Sports Complex in Winfield against the (RV) Tabor College Bluejays. The twin-billing was previously set for Saturday, as the two squads played out the first two-thirds of their weekend series one day early. The first game of the day was a competitive one at 9-8 after the bottom of the fourth inning, but things then went south for the Builders, as they fell 24-11 in seven innings. After that barnburner, the two squads slowed down offensively, finishing the day with a 7-2 Moundbuilder loss in the scheduled seven-inning affair.

Tilt number one was an up-and-down affair, as the Bluejays tallied five runs in the opening frame, three of which were unearned. The runs came off of two home runs. One of them was a two-run shot, while the latter drive (unearned) was a three-run bomb. Southwestern would not pout, though, scoring three runs of their own to cut into the deficit. After Tyler Seboldt and Joseph Finder reached base, London Penland drove them both home with a double into the left-center gap. Then, Will Johannsen provided a run-scoring single into center to send Penland across for the squad's third run of the frame.

Following scoreless second innings by both teams, each squad put two additional runs on the board in the third. Tabor picked up both their tallies on a double into left-center field, making it 7-3 before SC had seen their third chance at the dish. After Penland reached base for the Builders in the bottom of the third, Marcus Burton unloaded on his fifth homer of the 2023 campaign, lifting it over the left-field wall to make it just 7-5 for the Bluejays.

Another two-run frame from Tabor put them back up by four runs at 9-5, as an RBI double and a sacrifice fly gave them cushion once again. No pitcher could get a shutdown inning in the first few innings of this tilt, as the Builders responded with a three spot of their own on a massive drive to right-center field by Finder. His bomb brought home both Andrew Brown and Trevor Abitia, as well, cutting the Bluejay lead to only one run at 9-8.

That was where the wheels fell off the wagon for Southwestern, however, as the Bluejays scored five times in each of the next two innings, making it a 19-8 ballgame in the bottom of the sixth inning. Brown would end up connecting on a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning, making it 19-11, but then Tabor put the game to rest with a third straight five-run frame in the top of the seventh to win 24-11.

It was a totally different game script in game two, as neither side put up a run through the first two frames. The Bluejays picked up the game's first runs with a five spot in the top of the third inning. A pair of bases-loaded walks forced runs home, and a single that was missed by the SC left fielder went all the way to the fence, clearing the bases for the final three runs of the inning.

An additional Tabor run came in in the top of the fourth, as they took a 6-0 lead on a baes-loaded hit-by-pitch. The Moundbuilders would respond in the bottom half with Burton's RBI double that chased home Penland to make it 6-1.

The Bluejays scored another tally in the top of the sixth frame, when a single up the middle was bobbled by the center fielder, allowing a runner to try to head to the plate. He was able to make it across due to a throw that could not be corralled by the Builder catcher. A sacrifice fly from Josh Crabtree scored Penland in the bottom half of the sixth to end the scoring in the game at 7-2, with Tabor sweeping the afternoon.

SC picked up 10 hits in the opening game of the day, while being held to only four hits in tilt number two. Four Moundbuilders boasted multi-hit performances in the early battle, as Finder (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R), Penland (2-for-3, 2B, BB, 2 RBI, 2 R), Burton (2-for-3, HR, 2B, BB, R) and Johannsen (2-for-4, RBI) each grabbed a pair of hits. Just two other hits were recorded, with Brown's three-run homer being one, and Noah Prince's double to left-center field being the other. Each of the squad's four hits in game two came from different bats, as Finder, Penland, Burton and Chris Weatherford were credited with base hits.

Builder pitching struggled mightily in game one, but improved greatly in the latter bout of the afternoon. Nathan Simmons (4 IP, 7 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 3 K, 3 BB), Jared Stoffel (1.2 IP, 8 H, 10 R, 6 ER, 2 K, BB) and Trevor Sides (1.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 4 BB) had trouble with command to start the day. Jaxon Burns (3 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 K, 3 BB), Braden Ash (2 IP, K), Reyden Rull (IP, 2 H, R, K) and Dylan Navarrette (IP, H, BB) rounded out game two with better success, especially from the bullpen.

Southwestern (8-18, 2-8 KCAC) will be looking to break their three-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon, when they play the series finale against Tabor at Broadway at 2 p.m. The battle will come before a week-long break, which will end with a road series in Salina, Kan. against the (RV) Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan University.

--buildersports.com--