Sterling takes three from Tabor

Gadiel Baez slides home after Kirk Rocha hit a two-RBI double during the bottom of the fifth inning of Game 2 against Sterling Saturday. The Bluejays scored five runs in the inning to give Tabor a 6-1 victory.The 10th-ranked Tabor College baseball team gained one victory in a four-game series with Sterling Friday and Saturday. The Warriors were receiving votes in the latest Coaches? Top 25 poll.
?Sterling is a very good team, and it is always a tough series for us,? coach Mark Standiford said. ?They swing the bats really well and are very good on the mound.
?What hurt us the most this week was that we left too many runners on base. In the doubleheader on Friday, we stranded 22 runners. We just could not come up with the key hit. All good teams have to have timely hitting, and we struggled on Friday.?
The series began at Sterling Friday in the KCAC Game of the Week.
The Bluejays lost Game 1, 3-1. Sterling scored all three runs in the second inning. Tabor did not score until the top of the seventh when Gadiel Baez hit an RBI double.
The Bluejays left nine on base. Armando Castillo was 1-for-1 at-bat; Kirk Rocha was 1-for-2.
Junior Mustain (7-2) took the pitching loss. Over six innings, he gave up eight hits and three runs (all earned). He walked one batter and struck out four.
Tabor suffered its second loss to Sterling in Game 2, 7-6, in nine innings.

The Bluejays took an early lead when Castillo hit an RBI single in the first inning.

The game intensified, scoring-wise, in the third inning. Tabor used three hits, including doubles by Shaun Reid and CJ DeDeaux, as well as an error to score five runs in the top half of the inning.

Sterling tied the game in the bottom of the inning, scoring six runs on five hits, including a grand slam.
The score remained tied through seven, then eight, innings.

Tabor suffered three straight outs in the top of the ninth. Sterling hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the inning.

Tabor left 13 runners on base. Castillo was 3-for-3 with one RBI. Acevedo was 1-for-1 with one RBI. DeDeaux was 3-for-5, including a double, and had one RBI. Baez and Reid also hit doubles.
Alex Mann (3-2) absorbed the pitching loss. Over 32?3 innings, he gave up four hits and one run (none earned). He walked two batters and struck out five.

The series continued in Hillsboro Saturday.
Tabor lost Game 1, 7-2.
The Bluejays trailed 4-1 after five innings of play, having scored their first run in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by CJ DeDeaux.
Sterling increased its lead with three runs in the top of the sixth. Jean Acevedo hit a home run on a 2-2 count in the bottom of the inning for Tabor?s final run.

The Bluejays mustered four hits in the contest. Acevedo was 2-for-2 with one RBI.
Jacob Webb (8-2) absorbed the pitching loss. Over 52?3 innings pitched, he gave up eight hits and seven runs (four earned). He walked two batters and struck out eight.

Tabor concluded the series with a 6-1 victory in Game 2.

With the score tied at 1-1 after Tabor scored in the first inning and Sterling answered in the second, the Bluejays used a five-run fifth inning to propel them to victory.
With the bases loaded after a Keenan Chanin double, a ground out by Shaun Reid, and two walks, Grant Silva hit a sacrifice fly that brought home the inning?s first run.
Next, Kirk Rocha hit a two-run double, and Troy Torres followed with a two-run home run that concluded scoring for the game.
Torres was 2-for-3, including a home run, and had three RBIs, and Rocha was 2-for-3, including a double, with two RBIs. Chanin also hit a double.
Acevedo (5-2) was winning pitcher. Over seven innings, he gave up six hits and one run (earned). He walked two batters and struck out eight.

Manhattan Christian?Tabor made quick work of its non-conference doubleheader Tuesday, winning Game 1, 25-1.
The Bluejays scored 10 runs in the third inning alone, putting them in front 20-0 after three. Tabor added four runs in the fourth and a final run in the fifth before Manhattan Christian scored in the top of the sixth.
Troy Torres was 3-for-3 with one RBI. Four Bluejays were 2-for-2 at-bat: Armando Castillo (five RBIs), Dakota Vaughn (two RBIs), Grant Silva (two RBIs), Case Jenkins (one RBI). Kirk Rocha was 1-for-1 with one RBI. Luis Munoz was 4-for-6 with three RBIs.
Tabor managed seven doubles: Jean Acevedo, Gadiel Baez (two), Castillo, Jenkins, Munoz and Vaughn. Jenkins hit a home run. Silva tripled.

Alex Hill (2-0) was winning pitcher. Over four innings, he allowed two hits and no runs. He walked no one and struck out five.

The Bluejays won, 20-1, in Game 2.
Manhattan scored in the first inning, but Tabor claimed the lead with two runs in the bottom half. Then, in parallel fashion to Game 1, the Bluejays scored 10 runs in the third inning to take control the rest of the way.
Blake Standiford was 2-for-2 with two RBIs, Shaun Reid was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, Castillo was 2-for-3, including a home run, and had four RBIs, and Kevin Seeger hit a grand slam and had four RBIs. Six Bluejays hit doubles: Acevedo, Castillo, Reid, Standiford, Torres and Vaughn.

Alex Cole (2-0) was winning pitcher. Over five innings, he gave up two hits and one run (none earned). He walked no one and struck out two batters.

The Bluejays produced 38 hits to Manhattan?s five over the two games.
Coming?Tabor (16-4, 35-10) will travel to Bethany (11-9, 19-22)?Thursday for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The Bluejays will host the Swedes Saturday. The doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m.

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