Warriors Baseball Win One, Lose Three in Season-Opening Series

By Zach Throne

Waldorf University (1-6 overall) took one out of four games against Mount Marty (3-1 overall) at US Ballpark in Ozark, Missouri.

The Warriors played three games in the fall against Morningside College, and they dropped all three. The series-opener for the spring tasked the Warriors with two doubleheaders against Mount Marty.

Waldorf lost the first set of two games, 5-8 and 6-7.

In the first game, Waldorf saw themselves down 5-0 only to battle back to a 5-4 deficit. The Lancers responded with three more runs to command a four-run lead, which led to a 8-5 Waldorf loss.

Waldorf jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second game, but they could not hold on for the win. Mount Marty outscored the Warriors by five runs in the latter four innings of the game, resulting in a one-run loss for the Warriors.

Waldorf lost game three of the series as well by a score of 5-3. Waldorf also held a 3-1 lead in this game, but they saw that lead dwindle in the fifth and sixth innings.

“Two of those first three games were really frustrating for us because we had a lead in them,” said senior Kevin Tapia. “We wanted to try and put a full game together for the last game of series to end the series right.”

Game four concluded the series in the Warriors favor as they pulled ahead after scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning. Warriors won 7-5, earning their first win of the season.

Despite the 0-6 start, the Warriors are confident that the win’s momentum can be carried over into the rest of their schedule.

“We started the year slowly last year, but we really hit our stride when conference play started,” said senior pitcher Mac Pearson. “That’s our goal this year, too. We want to be playing our best baseball when conference comes around.”

The Warriors travel to Point Lookout, Missouri to take on College of the Ozarks this weekend on Feb. 21-22.