Long Ball Leads Warriors to Win in Postseason Opener

SEWARD, Neb. – Midland University traveled to Seward, Nebraska for the start of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Postseason Tournament on Thursday. The 5th-seeded Warriors faced 4th-seeded Briar Cliff University in the first game on the day at Plum Creek Park in Seward. Playing in a hitter-friendly ballpark, an eventful game full of home runs broke out. Midland hit five over the fence on its way to the 12-10 victory.

Hadyn Crawford ignited the game with a solo home run in the 1st. The lead grew an inning later as Garrett Freeman added to the momentum with a homer, bolstering Midland's lead to 2-0.

The Chargers broke their silence in the bottom of the 2nd, tying the game with a two-run homer.

After a couple of quiet innings, Tyler Struck kickstarted the 5th with a single. As Ben Kirkland came in as a courtesy runner, Yealex Lopez hit a single, positioning Warriors on the corners with one out. Crawford stepped back up to the plate and delivered a three-run homer, pushing the Warriors in front 5-2.

Briar Cliff chipped away at the gap with a run in the 6th as they strung together three hits.

Lopez sparked the Warriors' offense with a leadoff double in the 7th, setting the stage as Crawford crushed a ball over the left field fence for his third home run of the day. Joshua Hardamon added a double which was followed by a single from Deven Gomez, scoring Hardamon. Freeman's double advanced Gomez to third, and after Alec Villanueva was hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded with no outs. Jacob Liquori delivered a grand slam over the right field fence extending the Warriors' lead to 12-3.

In the bottom of the 7th, the Chargers sought to close the margin and did so with a three-run home run. They continued to fight back with four more runs in the 8th, reeling the audience back in for the final inning with Midland leading 12-10.

Briar Cliff did most of its damage after starter Owen Kelley went six innings with 10 strikeouts while giving up 5 hits and 3 runs. In the 8th, Brandon Creps came on to earn the four-out save. He allowed no hits or runs while striking out three Chargers.

Statistical Standouts

• Yealex Lopez: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B
• Hadyn Crawford: 3-for-5, 3 R, 6 RBI, 3 HR
• Joshua Hardamon: 3-for-5, R, 2B
• Deven Gomez: 1-for-4, R, RBI
• Garrett Freeman: 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR
• Jacob Liquori: 1-for-5, R, 4 RBI, HR
• Owen Kelley: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 10K
• Brandon Creps: 1.1 IP, 3 K

Midland (31-17) advances to face the winner of the Concordia and Mount Marty game which was being played after its game. The matchup of day one winners is scheduled for noon on Friday, May 3 at Plum Creek Park in Seward.