Tabor scored 49 runs in the three wins, but was limited to 13 in the
three losses. Tabor is 10-6 when scoring five or more runs, but 0-9
when scoring four or fewer.
STERLING
In the opener, Tabor benefitted from another quality start
from Andrew Cook, who allowed only three runs though six innings and
struck out five. He left in favor of Tyler Sizemore with the scored
knotted at 3-3.
But Sterling scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take
control, and Brett Ormiston was able to finish it off for the Warriors.
Dustin Dick was the only Bluejay with more than one hit in the first
game. He pounded an RBI double and a two-run home run in the contest.
In the second game, a six-run third inning rocketed Sterling to a 12-4 lead, with Tabor down to its final six outs.
The Bluejays parlayed their chances into four runs — two in the bottom
of the sixth and two more in the last of the seventh –but the Warriors
made enough plays defensively to keep the tying run off the basepaths.
Ryan Boucher smashed his first home run in a Tabor uniform — a two-run deep fly in the seventh inning.
Boucher, Chris Brown, Jordan Lago, and Eric LiCalsi each had two hits
in the second game. Dick doubled and singled in the second contest, and
drove in two more runs for a total of five RBI in the doubleheader.
Sterling?s relatively clean defensive play stood in sharp contrast to
Tabor?s fielding. The Bluejays committed five errors and allowed four
unearned runs to cross.
FRIENDS
Falcons starter Nate Nordstrom allowed three runs in the
bottom of the first inning and Bluejays starter Tyler Suderman cruised
through the first two innings without allowing a run.
But Nordstrom recorded Tabor?s next 12 outs without allowing a run.
The Friends offense came to life in the top of the third, scoring six
runs. The Falcons added four in the fourth and carried a 10-3 lead into
the sixth inning.
Tabor erupted for nine runs in the bottom of the sixth, and Travis Schafer slammed the door in the seventh.
Andrew Cook went 2-for-4 with two RBI on the go-ahead single he smacked
in the bottom of the sixth. LiCalsi went 1-for-3 with three RBI and two
stolen bases.
Schafer recorded 10 outs without allowing a run, striking out one and walking one.
Of the 12 runs allowed by Nordstrom, seven were earned. He walked five,
threw three wild pitches, and his catcher — Mike Perry — allowed five
passed balls.
The battery?s meltdown — combined with timely hitting — gave Tabor a
win over the team picked second in the conference in pre-season polls.
But timely hitting was nowhere to be found on the Tabor side in the
second game, as Jimmy Treece collected seven strikeouts in five innings
for Friends.
A home run by Falcons third baseman Steve Shaw in the top of the fifth
pushed the Friends lead to 10 runs, and the game ended early when the
Bluejays did not score in the bottom half.
Shaw?s homer was one of four by the Falcons, who took advantage of a
breeze blowing out to right field to turn fly balls into runs.
Alfred Wilson started the game on the mound and was tagged with the
loss, but was also the only Bluejay to score a run. He came in on a
single by Brown in the fourth inning.
WALDORF
Supporting their pitchers with runs came more than a little
more easily for the Bluejays on both days, but was particularly timely
in the first game.
Tabor went through three pitchers in the first three innings and trailed 10-2 after a scoreless fourth.
Waldorf threatened to 10-run the Bluejays with three in the top of the
fifth, but the Bluejays scored three to extend the game in the bottom
half.
Another three-spot by Waldorf in the top of the sixth put Tabor under
the thumb of the mercy rule again in the sixth, and the Bluejays again
responded on offense.
Travis Schafer came on in the seventh and held Waldorf to one run in the final three frames of the nine-inning contest.
That paved the way for the Bluejay offense, which scored five in the seventh and four in the eighth to make a game of it.
Even so, Tabor trailed 16-15 entering the ninth, and Waldorf?s only run
against Schafer made it a two-run game headed into the home half.
Tabor scored three runs to win it. With two outs in the books, Alfred Wilson knocked a 2-run single to win it.
The next day, Tabor opened up an 8-2 lead in the first inning and then did what Waldorf could not do — end the game early.
Cook?s one-out grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning gave Darrin
Fisher (1-1) his first win in a Bluejay uniform. Fisher threw five
innings, walking three and striking out two.
Coming — Tabor (10-15, 3-3 KCAC) played Manhattan Christian on Monday.
A doubleheader against Bethany that had been slated for March 18 was moved to Tuesday.
Tabor was scheduled to go on the road for the first time in two weeks,
traveling to Saint Mary for a doubleheader Wednesday, March 26.
Tabor continues the road trip at Kansas Wesleyan on Monday, March 31.
Tabor?s next home games are slated for April 4 against Central
Christian.
