REDDING, California. - The Simpson baseball squad won its first series of the young season as they took three out of four from Corban University.
The Warriors took advantage of a Red Hawks error to plate the first run of the game in the top of the first inning.
Simpson answered back with a two-out rally in the bottom of the second inning as back-to-back walks by
JJ Torrente and
Andrew Sherrell came around to score on a two-out RBI single by
Cesar Guzman and a Warriors passed ball to plate the go-ahead run.
Starter
Brendan Moore notched his first win of the year as he fired 5.0 complete innings while allowing one unearned run, while striking out four Warriors.
The Red Hawks added a pair of runs in the sixth and seventh innings as give Simpson the 6-1 lead as
Justin Powell laced a two-run single in the sixth inning.
The combined efforts of relievers
Johnny Alvarez and
Nui Sato kept the Corban bats at bay as they fired 4.0 innings of one-run ball to close out the 6-2 victory to seal the series win.
Mario Catalan and
Owen Hayes led the Simpson bats with a two-hit performance.
Game 2:
The Warriors jumped out to the early 5-0 lead as they plated four runs in the second inning, as a lead-off solo shot by Lucas Mertlich got the Warriors going before they took advantage of a bases-loaded no-out situation with a walk and back-to-back sacrifice flies.
Simpson cut into the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Sato picked up an RBI single while Torrente came around to score on a wild pitch.
The Red Hawks continued to roll offensively as they scored in the next four innings to take the 11-5 lead.
Owen Hayes and
Duke Aloy provided the big swings for Simpson as Hayes connected for a three-run blast in the fourth inning, while Aloy picked up his first career home run in the fifth inning on a two-run shot to left field.
Simpson looked for the sweep as they held a five-run lead into the ninth inning, but the Warriors had other plans.
Corban rallied against Simpson's late relievers as they scored three runs off three hits, one Red Hawk error, and a wild pitch.
With one out to go, the Warriors took advantage of a dropped third strike that extended the game.
Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for the Warriors as Sean Shaffer made the Red Hawks pay with a two-run single into left field to tie the game.
An inning plagued by wild pitches cost the Red Hawks the lead as the Warriors took the 13-12 lead.
Simpson threatened in the bottom of the ninth as they moved the tying run into scoring position before Corban's John Brabb earned the save as he induced a game-ending lineout.
Sato led the Simpson bats with a three-hit performance while Aloy and Torrente followed close behind with each notching a pair of hits.
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