"We felt we had something to prove after they 10-runned us in Hillsboro, and we did that in the first game but disproved it in the second game," coach John Sparks said.

"We had a solid approach at the plate in the opener, but we put it in cruise control in the second game on offense and left the ball up over the plate and they hit it."

In the opener, Casey Hillman picked up the win and got support from a 15-hit attack.

Hillman contributed to his own cause with a three-run home run as did Jeremy Ball. Kevin Peterson hit a solo shot.

In the second game, Central Christian used a four-run first inning to break the ice, added two in the third and seven in the fourth as Jeremy Sneed took the loss for Tabor.

Central knocked out 13 hits while Tabor managed three.

"We just didn't have the same kind of approach or focus we had in the first game," Sparks said. "They jumped out on us and we never recovered."

Sparks said his team has shown tremendous improvement in the field as of late.

"Overall, we've become a lot more consistent defensively," he said. "We still have some work to do because we're still making errors at key times that hurt us, but our total number of errors is declining.

"Over the last week I've seen a lot of good things and good signs and I think we are starting to peak at the plate," he added. "Right now, it's more of a consistency problem than anything. We just need to stay focused and play with the same intensity. Consistency right now is the name of the game for us."

With the split, Tabor's record stands at 9-11.

William Jewell-Tabor lost a pair of games Thursday to nationally ranked William Jewell, 10-8 and 12-9.

"They're a good team and we battled hard with them, so I was proud of the guys for that," coach John Sparks said. "We still made a couple of mistakes that cost us some runs in each game and gave them some free at bats that led to free runs.

"That was frustrating, but we played them tough so we're close to where we need to be."

In the opener, Cooper Garbe got the start and eventually the loss as William Jewell racked up 10 hits in the contest.

After William Jewell jumped on top 4-0 after one inning, Tabor tied the score in the bottom of the second before losing the two-run decision.

Chance Miles went 3-for-3 at the place, scored twice and drove in two runs. The Bluejays had nine hits while committing three errors.

In Game 2, starter Tyler McKim took the loss as William Jewell pounded out 14 hits to only five for Tabor.

The game was tied 5-5 after three innings.

Josh Craig cranked a solo home run while Miles blasted a three-run shot and Casey Hillman added a two-run double for Tabor (8-10).

Sterling-Tabor kicked off its conference schedule last Monday with a pair of losses at Sterling.

Tabor lost the opener 7-6 in eight innings but bounced back to take Game 2, 17-3.

"We led the first game 6-0 and they chipped their way back and we didn't keep swinging after the first four innings," Sparks said. "You can't do that against a good team on the road, so that was a disappointing loss for us."

Casey Hillman took the loss despite allowing only one earned run in six innings. But Hillman was his own worst enemy, walking three and hitting five batters.

"Too many freebies," Sparks said.

J.D. Poplin had three of Tabor's 11 hits and drove in two runs while Nick Green and Chance Miles each added two hits.

In Game 2, Tabor scored five first-inning runs on the way to the easy victory.

"I was real happy with the way we played overall at Sterling if you could cut out the last three innings of the first game," Sparks said. "We played great baseball overall and our approach to the plate was really solid in the second game."

Jeremy Sneed benefited from the offensive explosion, capturing the win after allowing nine hits and two earned runs in six innings.

Tabor produced 18 hits led by Poplin and Kevin Peterson with three each while Green, Casey Hillman, Chance Miles, Jeremy Ball and Tanner Monhollan each added two.

Ball drove in four runs to lead the Bluejays while Peterson, Hillman and Poplin all drove home three. Hillman and Peterson hit home runs as the Bluejays moved their overall record to 8-8 while opening the KCAC at 1-1.

Coming-Tabor was scheduled to host Minot State University on Tuesday, March 12, before traveling to Lawrence on Wednesday to tangle with Haskell Indian Nations.