Courtesy of Midland Athletics
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Midland University took the field for the final time in Arizona as they wrapped up the Firestorm Invitational against the host team, Arizona Christian University. The Warriors took another tough loss, falling 12-2 to the Firestorm in Glendale.
Midland started the game with a run in the top of the 1st. Dax Wander got the first hit of the game with a single through the right side. He stole a base to get into scoring position and then Alex Villanueva doubled to bring him home two batters later.
Arizona Christian got its bats going in the bottom of the inning. After getting back-to-back hits to start, they scored on a sacrifice bunt and then on a scoring error to take their first lead, 2-1.
Runs were hard to come by for the Warriors as the Firestorm pitching staff settled in on the mound. They limited the Midland to seven hits the rest of the way along with just two other baserunners via walks or errors.
Offensively, ACU scored one run in the 2nd and two in the 4th to increase their lead.
In the top of the 6th, Midland carved out their second run of the game. Trey Nichols led off with a single through the left side and then Tyler Foster joined him with a one-out hit-by-pitch. Beau Boyle hit a sacrifice fly to center, bringing in Nichols for what would end up being the final run for the visitors.
ACU got the run back in the bottom of the inning and then poured in six more runs in the 7th to close out the runs for both teams.
Jayden Gibson went 4.0 innings in his first start as a Warrior. He gave up four earned runs while striking out six batters. Jonathan Foreman, Scott Tatum, Jacob Perez, and Connor Petersen combined for the final four innings out of the bullpen. Collectively, they allowed three earned runs on six hits.
Statistical Standouts
- Beau Boyle: 1-for-3, RBI
- Alec Villanueva: 1-for-4, RBI, 2B
- Trey Nichols: 3-for-4, R
- Dax Wandler: 2-for-3, R
Midland (0-4) will return back to Nebraska and prepare for its home opener in two weeks. They face Presentation (0-4) in a doubleheader on Thursday, February 23. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Moller Field in Fremont.
