Central, S.C. – The Warriors won the first game of the three game series against the Pfeiffer Falcons in Conference Carolina action in a final score of 15-12.

Southern Wesleyan posted 18 hits in the win on Friday night.  John Garrett led the Warriors with four hits in the win.  DiMarkus Sanders and Conner Ewing followed Garrett with three hits.  Garrett, Ewing, Julio Justo and Quinton Bent all doubled over the course of the game.  Ewing led the team with four RBIs.  Four Warriors stole bases in the win with Sanders leading the pack with three steals in the game.  The Warriors left 13 runners on the base pads in the victory.

Mike Batten started the game for the Warriors.  Batten went five innings while allowing six hits, five runs and facing 25 batters to gain his third win of the season.  Roth Mathews, Tyler Parry, Jarrett Joyner and Josh Core all pitch an inning in relief.

Game Vitals

Final: Southern Wesleyan 15, Pfeiffer 12

Record: Southern Wesleyan ( 6-15 / CC 2-5 ) Pfeiffer ( 9-11 / CC 3-4 )

Coach Gillespie Says…

"Very proud of the way our guys responded each inning we gave up runs.  This should build some confidence going forward.  We need to compete tomorrow, something we have talked about and worked on.  Playing complete games on double header days is important."

How It Happened

Southern Wesleyan struck first in the debate against the Pfeiffer Falcons in the bottom of the second inning.  Andrew Falgiano started off the inning reaching on an error and then advanced to third base on a single to center field by senior Justin Brew.  John Garrett gained the first RBI of the game on a single to bring Falgiano home and move Brew to second base.  DiMarkus Sanders reached on an error to move both the runners up a base and load the bases for sophomore Conner Ewing.  Ewing was hit by a pitch to bring another run home for the Warriors.  Trevor Walker reached first on a fielder's choice and then Jason Moldenhauer singled to Southern Wesleyan a 4-0 lead over the Pfeiffer.

The Warriors scored again in the bottom of the third inning.  Andrew Falgiano reached first on a single and then advanced to second.  A balk by the pitcher moved Falgiano on to third base.  Justin Brew hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring Falgiano home to give Southern Wesleyan a 5-0 lead.  The Falcons fought back in the top of the fourth inning, scoring two runs to bring the score to 5-2 below the Warriors.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, DiMarkus Sanders hit a bunt single and then stole second to get into scoring position.  Sanders went on to steal third base with Jason Moldenhauer up to bat.  Moldenhauer reached first on a walk.  Julio Justo hit a single to center field to bring Sanders home and move Moldenhauer to third base to give the Warriros a 6-2 lead.

The Falcons fought back in the top of the fifth inning, scoring three runs to bring the score to 6-5.  The Warriors countered in the bottom of the fifth.  Quinton Bent singled and then a double to left field by junior John Garrett brought Bent to third place to put both two runners in scoring position with one out.  A single by DiMarkus Sanders brought both Garrett and Bent around to score to give the Warriors an 8-5 lead.  Sanders stole second and then advanced to third on an error. Conner Ewing hit a double to deep right center to bring Sanders home.  Trevor Walker reached first base on an error, moving Ewing on to third base.  Jason Moldenhauer reached first on a fielder's choice to bring Ewing come home to score the tenth run of the game.   

Pfeiffer would not go down quietly, scoring four runs in the top of the sixth inning including a two run home run Zach Scudder.  Roth Mathews kept the Falcons from putting more on the board by making Derek Perry swing at a pitch to close out the top of the sixth inning.

Southern Wesleyan put depth on their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Quinton Bent led off the inning with a double to center field and then advanced to third on a single by John Garrett.  DiMarkus Sanders laid down a well-placed bunt to get on first and bring Bent home.  Conner Ewing singled to center field to bring both Sanders and Garrett home.  Trevor Walker got hit by a pitch to moved Ewing to second.  Julio Justo doubled to center field to bring Walker and Ewing home to give the Warriors a 15-9 lead over Pfeiffer. 

The Falcons put one more run on the board in the top of the seventh inning, but Tyler Parry held them at one run getting a fly out, line out and ground out to end the top of the seventh.  Pfeiffer rallied back again in the top of the ninth inning, but the Warriors were able to keep them to two runs to win their second Conference Carolinas game of the season 15-12.

What's Next

The Warriors will return to the Con on March 11 to take on the Pfeiffer Falcons at 12 and 3 pm.  Southern Wesleyan will host their first annual Military Appreciation Day game with special ceremonies starting at 11:30 am.  The Warriors will then travel to Young Harris on March 14 to take on the Mountain Lions at 4 pm.