Sewardsaints.com
The Seward Saints opened the 2025 season with a doubleheader split against Lamar Community College, drooping the opener, 6-3, but winning the second game, 5-1, Saturday at Brent Gould Field.
Seward is 1-1 and hosts Kirkwood Community College (Iowa) from a four-game set on Saturday and Sunday at Brent Gould Field.
Liberal native Brooks “Kap” Kappelmann got the start Saturday and started strong by striking out the side in the first inning and leaving the mound with a 2-1 lead after three innings.
GAME ONE
Seward jumped out to an early lead, but could not hold on and dropped the first game of the season.
The Saints got on the board first, scoring twice in the first inning. Nate Hopkins led off the game with a double and after a one-out walk to Grant Cox, Cooper Turner doubled in Hopkins and Brooks Barber drove in Cox with a sacrifice fly.
Lamar answered with four unanswered runs, scoring in the second, fourth and fifth innings to open a 4-2 lead. Errors and a balk led to three unearned runs.
Seward narrowed the gap to 4-3 in the sixth on a two-out, bases-loaded walk to Kitaro Wakui, but could not get any closer. Lamar tacked on two runs in the sixth to take a 6-3 lead for the final score.
Kappelmann allowed one run on two hits, struck out five and walked two over three innings. Kappelmann struck out the side in the first inning.
Logan Tice took the loss, gave up three runs, only one earned, on two hits, struck out one and walked none over two innings.
GAME TWO
Nate Hopkins went 3-for-5 with two RBI and Cross Durham added three hits and drove in a run to power the Saints to a 5-1 victory over Lamar in the nightcap and earn a split of the doubleheader.
Three Seward pitchers combined on a four-hit, one-run effort over nine innings. The lone run was unearned.
Seward took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Cross' RBI triple, scoring Adam Mendoza first.
Lamar took advantage of a Seward miscue and knotted the contest at one in the top of the third. After a two-base error and a single, Lamar scored on a run-scoring fielder's choice.
Seward regained the lead in the bottom of the inning on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Blaine Chancy. The Saints would not look back.
Hopkins had run-scoring singles in the sixth and eighth and a Brooks Barber sacrifice fly in the seventh accounted for all the scoring.
Copper Turner started for Seward and picked up the win, going four innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits, striking out three and walking two. Braden Whipple followed with three no-hit, scoreless innings with one walk and six strikeouts. Ashton Creighton finished out with two shutout innings on one hit and three strikeouts.