Sewardsaints.com
The Seward County baseball squad picked up a pair of wins over the 23rd-ranked Barton Cougars at Lawson-Biggs Field Thursday, sweeping the road doubleheader from the Cougars with wins of 5-3 in game one and 9-3 in game two.
Seward (8-13, 2-0) opens KJCCC play 2-0 for the first time since 2010. Barton (14-4, 0-2) makes the return trip to Brent Gould Field on Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
Game 1: Seward 5, Barton 3 (7 Inn.)
Seward broke a 1-1 tie with a Jhett Huffman two-run home run in the top of the fourth in game one.
The Saints used a strong start from right-handed pitcher Michael Lujan (W, 2-1) as he went 5.0 innings allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out a career-high tying nine and walking three. Lujan was relieved by Braden Whipple (Save, 1), who threw the final 2.0 innings, allowing a lone run on one hit.
Seward added two insurance runs in the fifth as Grant Cox scored on an error and Hayden Ramage delivered an RBI base hit to score Blaine Chancy, making it 5-1. Barton used lone runs in the fifth and seventh to pull within 5-3.
Cox finished 2-3 with two runs scored. Ramage was 2-4 with the RBI. Barton's Antonio Mendez (L, 0-1) suffered the loss throwing 5.0 innings with only three of the five runs being earned. He struck out seven and walked none.
Game 2: Seward 9, Barton 3 (9 Inn.)
Seward finished off the Cougars in game two, a nine-inning affair.
The Saints got another pair of strong performances on the mound as Brooks Kappelmann (W, 2-2) made his strongest start of the young season, throwing 5.2 innings, allowing one run on eight hits, while striking out seven and walking three. Ashton Creighton earned his first save of the season, throwing the final 3.1 innings, allowing two runs on two hits. It marked both Kappelmann and Creighton's longest outings of the season.
Barton scored the game's first run off an RBI single from Micah McGavran in the bottom of the second. It was all Saints after that as they ripped off nine unanswered runs from the fourth through the eighth innings. Jorge Beitia Tunon hit his first collegiate long ball, a three-run home run in the fourth to put Seward ahead 3-1. He drove in a team-high four runs in the game. Jhett Huffman finished 5-5 at the plate with two RBI. The five hits is the highest by a Saint this season. Hayden Ramage was 3-5 with three runs scored and two RBI as he hit a two-run home run in the eighth to make it 9-1.
Seward outhit Barton 16-10 and had a clean scorecard defensively.
