Saints Split at Midland for 3-1 Trip to West Texas

MIDLAND, Texas – It was two high scoring games for the Seward County baseball team (8-3) on Sunday afternoon, splitting the doubleheader against Midland. The Saints won the first game 16-12 before falling in the second game 17-6.

GAME ONE RECAP

Cole Evans (1-0) started his first career-game and picked up his first win in game one, pitching 4.0 innings. Evans gave up two hits and struck out five batters in the process. Jordan Pepper, Jacob Nielsen and Brayden Conner combined for 3.0 innings in relief.

The Saints came away with 22 hits in the game, led by Spencer Sackett and Dylan Paul’s 4-for-5 appearances. Joe Kuhn led the Saints with five RBI, while Paul and Jose Caraballo each added four RBI.

Midland got on board first with a solo home run by Garrett Wilkinson in the bottom of the first. Seward couldn’t respond until the top of the third, but they quickly put the pressure on the Chaps.

Brendan Madsen led off the inning with a home run to right field to tie the game. Sackett reached base on a single before Paul doubled to left field to score Sackett. A single by Caraballo brought Paul home to make it 3-1. Cole Bergdall reached on a single to advance Caraballo to third base. Kuhn took his first pitch and homered to center field to end the six-run inning for the Saints, making it 6-1.

Another big inning for the Saints extended the lead in the fourth. Cayde Ward doubled center field to score Sackett, who reached on a single. Paul hit a triple down the right line to score Ward. A ground out by Caraballo was enough to bring Paul home, bringing the game to 9-1.

The Chaps closed the gap in the fifth inning. Three walks to start the inning loaded the bases. A double by Ethan Barker scored all three runs. A single by Frainyer Chavez reached the outfield to score Barker before a sacrifice fly scored the fifth run of the inning, as Midland cut the lead to 9-6.

The Saints kept their distance with a three-run inning of their own in the top of the sixth. Two doubles scored the first run. Cole Bergdall walked, then advanced on a wild pitch to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Another Kuhn hit drove in both runs to make the score 12-6.

Midland came up with another big inning in the bottom of the sixth, starting with a leadoff homerun by Tommy Gillman. A single and hit-by-pitch put runners at 1st and 2nd for Barker, who homered on a line drive to centerfield. One last home run in the inning by Wilkinson made the score 12-11.

With just a one run lead, the Saints quickly got to work in the final inning. Madsen led off with a walk and advanced to second with a sacrifice bunt by Braxton Allen. Sackett drove in Madsen with a double to centerfield. Cayde Ward reached on a double, advancing Sackett to third base. Paul drove in another run with a single to second base before Caraballo drove in the final two runs of the inning with a double to left field to bring the game to 16-11.

Midland had one last chance to close the gap and started the inning in good shape, with three singles to load the bases. Riley King hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score the runner at third, but Conner struck out the next two batters to end the game, giving the Saints the win, 16-12.

GAME TWO RECAP

Braeden Gould (1-1) started on the mound in the second game, but got pulled after giving up three runs in the first inning. West Reddell, Dylan Paul, Brooks Williams, and Carlos Vizcaya pitched 6.1 innings in relief.

Seward came away with eight hits with Caraballo and Ben Tsui each getting two. Cole Bergdall finished with a team high three RBI, while Madsen and Tsui added one a piece.
Seward got on board first in the top of the first inning. Caraballo reached on a single to right field before Sackett walked. Ward hit into a fielder’s choice to advance the runners to second and third. An error by the second basemen on a pickoff attempt, scored Caraballo.

The Saints lead was a short one. A single and a walk put runners at first and second before Wilkson doubled to centerfield, scoring both runners. A single by Cameron Melcher scored Wilkinson to make the score 3-1.

Seward got back on the scoreboard in the second inning. Tsui reached on a single and advanced to second from a walk. Madsen scored Tsui with a hard ground ball up the middle, putting the game at 3-2.

The Chaps got two more in the second. A leadoff walk and a steal put a runner in scoring position for Barker, who knocked him in with a double up the middle. A groundout pushed Barker to third before he came home on a passed ball to make the score 5-2.

Midland continued their scoring in the third with a two-run home run over the left field wall by Benton Rogers. Gillman had reached bases on a leadoff double.

Ben Tsui hit a solo home run in the fourth inning to briefly slim the deficit, but the Chaps got the run back in the bottom of the fourth, as Jordan Billups knocked in a run on a bases-loaded single. To make the score 9-3.

The Saints cut the deficit to three with a three-run home run by Bergdall in the top of the fifth, bringing home Caraballo, who reached on a single, and Sacket, who reached on a walk.

The scoring stalled until the sixth, when the Chaps exploded for five runs. Two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Billups, who doubled to center field to score all three runs. Blake Perdue doubled to score Billups, while Barker tripled to score Perdue, making the game 14-6.

Midland retired the side in the top of the seventh and quickly ended the game. A walk and hit-by-pitch put runners on base for Rogers who took the third pitch over the centerfield wall, ending the game from run-rule, 17-6.

Seward will be back in action this Saturday (Feb. 24) and Sunday (25) with a four-game homestand against Trinidad State. Saturday’s doubleheader will start at 1:00 p.m. at Brent Gould Field.

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Ian Applegate