Bluejay baseball sweeps Coyotes

Colton Flax rounds third base and is congratulated by coach Mark Standiford after hitting a two-run home run on a 3-2 count in the bottom of the second inning during Game 1 Sunday. Flax was 2-for-2 at-bat in Tabor's 5-1 win.The Tabor College baseball team maintained its perfect KCAC record (12-0) with a series sweep of Kansas Wesleyan Saturday and Sun?day.

The Bluejays are currently riding a 17-game winning streak.

?We pitched and hit really well this weekend,? coach Mark Standiford said. ?Sunday the wind was blowing really hard, and we knew we would need to score a lot of runs and we were able to do that.

?We are fortunate to have a great group of young men that put team first ahead of their individual goals.?

The series began with a doubleheader in Salina Saturday.

The Bluejays won Game 1, 6-2. Although the Coyotes got on the board first with one run in the first inning, Tabor answered in the second when Shaun Reid singled to bring Jean Acevedo home.

The Bluejays enjoyed a three-run fourth inning. Troy Torres started things off with a double and later scored on a Pete Lelich single. Reid singled to score Keenan Chanin, and Lelich scored when Gadiel Baez flied out.

Tabor added one run in the fifth and sixth innings before the Coyotes managed their final run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Torres was 3-for-4 at the plate. Reid was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Kirk Rocha and Torres each hit a double.

Junior Mustain (6-1)?was the winning pitcher. In seven innings, he gave up five hits and two runs (both earned). He walked two batters and struck out seven.

The Bluejays won Game 2, 16-0. Tabor scored a run in the first inning when Kevin Seeger hit a home run, then added a second run in the third inning when Baez singled to score Reid.

Pete Lelich hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to put Tabor up 4-0.

The score remained that way until Tabor blew the game open with an 11-run sixth inning, highlighted by singles from Torres, Lelich, CJ DeDeaux, Baez and Armando Castillo; a double by Chanin; a triple by Lelich, and a three-run home run by Seeger.

Tabor added one last run in the seventh inning on an RBI single by Ryan Neufeld.

Lelich was 3-for-4, including a home run, with four RBIs. Seeger was 2-for-3?both home runs?with four RBIs.

Russell Longworth (6-1)?was the winning pitcher. Over six innings, he allowed three hits and no runs. He walked no one and struck out five batters.

Tabor picked up where it left off Sunday, gaining a 5-1 win in Game 1.

The Bluejays scored first with two runs in the second inning. After Torres doubled, Colton Flax hit a two-run home run.

The Coyotes scored a run in the top of the third before Tabor added two more in the bottom half of the inning. Baez was hit by a pitch, then Kirk Rocha doubled. Seeger followed with a two-RBI single.

Tabor managed a final run in the fifth inning on a DeDeaux home run.

Flax was 2-for-2 with two RBIs; Seeger was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Jacob Webb (7-1)?was winning pitcher. Over seven innings, he gave up three hits and one run (none earned). He walked one batter and struck out 15.

Tabor completed the series sweep with a 16-9 win in Game 2.

The Coyotes scored a run in the top of the first inning, then Tabor answered with two in the bottom of the inning when Flax hit a two-RBI double.

The Bluejays scored six runs in the second inning, aided by a three-run home run by Seeger and an RBI double by Flax.

Kansas Wesleyan added two runs in both the third and fourth innings and took a 9-8 lead with four runs in the top of the fifth inning.

But Tabor responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to reclaim the lead for good. A six-run sixth inning?highlighted by a Flax home run, RBI doubles by Rocha and Torres, and a two-RBI double by Baez?sealed the win for Tabor.

Torres was 4-for-5 with one RBI; Flax was 3-for-5 with four RBIs; Seeger was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

Alex Mann (2-0)?was winning pitcher. Over three innings, he allowed three hits and one run (earned). He walked no one and struck out four batters.

As a team, Tabor recorded a batting average of .407 for the week, led by Torres (9-16, .563).

With the sweep, Tabor?s overall record improves to 28-5.

Coming?Tabor was scheduled to face Saint Gregory?s and 2nd-ranked Oklahoma Baptist Tuesday. The Bluejays resume KCAC play Friday at 22nd-ranked Friends beginning at 1 p.m. Tabor will host Friends Saturday in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

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