The Nelson Warriors continued their most recent hot streak, striking down the Knights of Nobel University, 12-1 (7), their fourth victory in their previous five games. The Nelson squad jumped onto the back of starting pitcher Esteban Acevedo (2-4) who never put them down, throwing a gem for the program's first-ever complete-game, allowing just 2-hits and no walks, while striking out 7 and allowing no earned runs. The offense was anchored by Manny Frias-Moreno (.311), who smacked two home runs, a solo in the 2nd inning and a two-run bomb in the 4th, finishing 4-4 with 3RBI on the evening.
"Esteban was excellent today," gushed manager Josh Milner following the game. "It was very cool to see him finish the game and to see Manny get going with two bombs."
Acevedo was truly dominant, allowing a single to the game's leadoff hitter before setting down the next nine straight. Then, following a one-out single in the fourth, he again set down the next eight, into the top of the seventh when he hit the lead-off batter, who would eventually come around to score following a steal and error.
Meanwhile, the Warriors jumped on Nobel starter Adrian Pacheco, when
Zach Walsh (.273) drove in
AJ Estill (.253) with two outs. After a three-run second inning, including Frias-Moreno's solo smash, the Warriors broke the game wide-open with five-runs in the fourth inning on four hits, including a
Kaysen Kajiwara (.286) RBI triple and
Gannon Aguilar (.242) RBI double, then capped off by Frias-Moreno's two-run home run.
The first half of the season was a difficult one for the Warriors, but the second half has thus far proved to set Nelson up for a strong finish to the program's second-year. Manager Milner is excited for the second half, believing that the first half has acted as iron sharpening iron, preparing his squad for a strong turnaround. "We've played a very tough schedule the first half of the season and now we're starting to see some fruit from that. These guys are tough, resilient, and have continued to get better each week. We're excited for the second half of the season."
The Warriors next play at the Benedictine (Mesa) Redhawks on March 25, at 6:00pm.
Do not forget to follow Nelson Athletics on X at @NelsonWarriors and Instagram at @nelsonwarriors.athletics.