Central, SC – The Warriors took down the Erskine Flying Fleet in game one in a 16-10 final before dropping game two in a 40-8 final score.

Southern Wesleyan totaled 16 hits in the first game of the afternoon.  Jackson Mix led the team with four hits.  Behind him, four Warriors totaled two hits.  Chance Fogel, Josh Long and Mix doubled during the game.  Both Cam Mitchem and Jackson Mix had home runs.  Mitchem led the team with four RBIs while Long followed with three RBIs.  The Warriors walked seven times, and both Mix and Fogel had stolen bases.  Steven Mufareh started game one of the afternoon on the mound for the Warriors.  Mufareh pitched 5.1 innings while striking out five batters.  George Schodowski came in to pitch in relief and struck out one batter over 1.2 innings.

The Warriors picked up 12 hits in game two.  Josh Long led the team as he picked up three hits.  Behind him Justin Purdom recorded two hits.  Long and Purdom both doubled, and Tyler Jackson had a home run.  Southern Wesleyan walked five times, and both Purdom and Travis Hammond stole bases.  Mikah Gustavson started game one and pitched 1.1 innings while striking out two batters.  Seven Warriors came in to pitch in relief.  Josh Fenton led the Warriors with three strikeouts.  Ash Faulk, Sandy Johnson, Ryan Folts and Aidan Evans each struck out two.

Game Vitals

Game One Final: Southern Wesleyan 16, Erskine 10

Game Two Final: Erskine 40, Southern Wesleyan 8

Records: Southern Wesleyan (14-32 / CC 8-19) Erskine (28-17 / CC 13-12)

How It Happened

Game One

Erskine took the early lead in the top of the first inning of game one.

The lead was short lived as Southern Wesleyan quickly attacked in the bottom of the first inning.  Jackson Mix led off the inning with a double to right field.  A single by Noah Wiggins to left field allowed Mix to advance to third.  Cam Mitchem hit a single through the left side to advance Wiggins to second and bring Mix in to score to tie the game up 1-1.  With two outs and two runners on, Josh Long walked to load up the bases.  An error by the third baseman allowed Patrick Walker to reach first and bring both Highsmith and Mitchem in to score to put the Warriors on top 3-1.

Southern Wesleyan continued to attack in the bottom of the second inning.  With one out, Jackson Mix hit a single through the right side.  Mix then stole second base and then advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher.  A passed ball allowed Mix to come in to score to extend the Warriors lead to 4-1.

The Warriors attacked again in the bottom of the third inning.  Josh Long led off the inning with a single to center field.  With one out and Long at first, Dawson Gilstrap hit a single to left field to allow Long to move up to second.  Travis Hammond hit a single to left field, however Josh Long was thrown out at home plate on the play.  Jackson Mix followed with a walk to load up the bases.  With the bases loaded, back-to-back walks to Noah Wiggins and Cam Mitchem allowed two more runs to come in to score.  Chance Fogel then drilled the ball up the middle for a single to score both Wiggins and Mix to extend the Warriors lead to 8-1.  TJ Highsmith singled to load up the bases once again and bring Josh Long up to bat for the second time in the inning.  Long knocked a double to left field to bring all three runners on base across home plate.  A single by Patrick Walker to right field allowed Long to score and give the Warriors a 12-1 run lead.

The Flying Fleet were not discouraged as a single by Jude Littrel and a three run home run by Ashby Smith put them down 12-5.

Southern Wesleyan was not done at the plate as they put up three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.  With one out, Jackson Mix hit his first home run of the season over the right field walk.  Noah Wiggins then walked.  Cam Mitchem hit the ball over the right center field wall for a two run home run to give the Warriors a ten run advantage.

Erskine continued to chip away at Southern Wesleyan's lead as Juan Jaime doubled to center field to bring Dale Francis Jr in to score in the top of the fifth.  A grand slam by Francis in the sixth put the Flying Fleet down by five.

The Warriors maintained the intensity in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Jackson Mix singled up the middle and advanced to second as Noah Wiggins was hit by a pitch.  With two outs, TJ Highsmith singled through the left side to bring Mix in to score.  The Warriors won game one in a 16-10 final score.

Game Two

Erskine started strong in the second game as they brought in six runs in the top of the first inning.  They continued to push ahead in the top of the second inning to extend their lead to 12-0.

Southern Wesleyan countered in the bottom of the second inning.  Josh Long led off with a single through the left side.  Tyler Jackson then drilled the ball over the left field wall to put the Warriors down 12-2.

The Warriors struck again in the bottom of the third inning.  With one out, Chance Fogel walked.  TJ Highsmith walked, but an error in an attempt to throw down Fogel allowed him to advance to third base.  Josh Long then singled up the middle to bring Fogel in to score the third run of the game for the Warriors.

The Flying Fleet would not relent as they scored again in the top of the fourth and fifth innings.

Southern Wesleyan attacked again in the bottom of the sixth inning.  With two outs, Jonny Middlebrooks singled to left field.  A single by Caden Cotton allowed Middlebrooks to advance to second.  A passed ball then moved both runners up ninety feet.  Justin Purdom hit a single to center field to bring both Cotton and Middlebrooks in to score.

Home runs by Lujo and Rando extended Erskine's lead once again.  The Flying Fleet were not done as they scored in the top of the eighth and ninth innings.

The Warriors scored three more runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.  Justin Purdom led of with a double down the right field line.  With two outs, Josh Long walked and then Purdom stole third base.  Patrick Walker singled up the middle to bring Purdom in to score.  A passed ball allowed Walker to advance to second.  With both runners in scoring position, Luke Staton singled up the middle.  However, the Warriors fell to the Flying Fleet in game two in a 40-8 final score.

What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will travel to Tigerville, SC on April 28 to take on the North Greenville Crusaders at 4 p.m.  They will remain in Tigerville, SC on April 29 to wrap up the regular season and take on the Crusaders at 1 and 4 p.m.