Warriors Split First Two at Red Hawks
Club's nine-game winning streak ends, but a new one began
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0 |
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0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | X | 10 | 15 | 1 |
The Nelson Warriors' baseball team (21-21) split a doubleheader on the road at the Simpson Red Hawks to open a four-game series, losing Game 1 by a score of 10-5 before bouncing back with a solid 7-1 victory in Game 2.
Game 1: Simpson 10, Nelson 5
The Warriors entered the day riding a club-record nine-game winning streak and looked primed to extend it when they jumped out to a 3-0 lead after 1.5 innings. Ethan Gustafson launched a solo home run in the first (his club leading 16th on the season along with 62 runs batted in), and Gannon Aguilar added a two-run homer in the second, his 6th, driving Brandon Ramirez, who had doubled between the two power-hitters, in the process.
Unfortunately, Simpson responded with a massive outburst in the bottom of the second, crushing back-to-back home runs, including a grand slam, and scoring six runs in the inning to take a 6-3 lead they would never relinquish. Behind the bat of Ramirez, Nelson added single runs in the sixth and seventh (he recorded an RBI sac fly in the sixth and an RBI single in the seventh), but the Red Hawks continued to add on, scoring once in the third, twice in the sixth, and once more in the eighth to secure the 10-5 win.
Game 2: Nelson 7, Simpson 1 (7 innings)
Not wanting to start a streak heading in the wrong direction, the Warriors responded well in the late game, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second when Josue Franco Jr. singled in Adrian Nunez and Aaron Bazan added a sacrifice fly to score Brandon Ramirez. They added a third run in the fourth when Franco hit a hard grounder up the middle that handcuffed the second baseman, causing an errant throw to first allowing everyone to advance, including Brandon Ramirez who came in to score from third.
After Simpson broke the shutout with a run in the fifth, Nelson put the game away with a four-run seventh inning. With the bases loaded, Jimmy Holloway hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Gerardo Paco. Adrian Nunez doubled to score Ethan Gustafson and Sam Hess, then Gannon Aguilar singled in Manny Bracamonte for the inning's fourth run.
Starter Nathan Simmons was brilliant, tossing six strong innings and allowing just four hits and one run while walking three and striking out six. Esteban Acevedo closed the game cleanly in the seventh to secure the 7-1 victory and earn the save.
On the day, Gerardo Paco finished 3-8 with one run, jumping his season batting average up to .336. Adrian Nunez finished 3-6, with 1 run and 2 RBI, jumping his batting average to .367 on the season. Brandon Ramirez is now hitting .387 after he finished 4-7 with 3 runs and 2 RBI, while Gannon Aguilar bumped his average up to .300 finishing 3-7 with 1 run and 3 RBI.
With only five games remaining, see the Nelson Warriors' baseball page for their upcoming schedule.
Do not forget to follow Nelson Athletics on X at @NelsonWarriors and Instagram at @nelsonwarriors.athletics.