JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If ever there was a tale of two games, the ABAC Stallions displayed it in their doubleheader sweep Tuesday afternoon.
ABAC made the short Spring Break trip to Florida a successful one, cruising past Florida Memorial in the opener 16-3 before taking down Trinity Baptist College 3-1 in the nightcap.
In the opener, the Stallions jumped out to an 11-0 lead after two innings and never looked back during the easy win. The second game was much closer as the Stallion offense was limited to only four hits. But ABAC's pitching staff responded as five pitchers limited Trinity to only two hits and the lone run to run the Stallions' record to 18-9.
Against Trinity, ABAC took advantage of the home team's hospitality as shortstop Quentin Rawls led off the game by reaching second on an Eagle error. He stole third base and scored as Trinity attempted to pick Cris Walley off first. In the fourth,
Joe Fisher singled,
Chasin Cash walked, and
Harrison Childers was hit by a pitch to load the bases for catcher
Talan Watson, who launched a sacrifice fly to center for a 2-0 lead.
Trinity scored its only run in the bottom of the fourth but Cash's RBI single in the fifth provided some cushion for the bullpen, which was flawless. Starter
Dawson Harrelson was strong, allowing two hits over 3 2/3 innings and the combination of
Kaleb Stephens,
Nicholas Milbrant,
Owen Lamb, and
Tre'von Lee allowed no hits over the final 3 1/3 innings. Milbrant earned his second win of the year while Lee recorded his first save.
The opener could not have been more different and there were offensive stars aplenty. But none were bigger than Walley, who blasted a fourth-inning grand slam for his 11
th home run of the year. Rawls had two hits, scored three runs and stole two bases;
Brayden Fordham had a pair of hits and three RBIs; and
Cameron Campbell had a single and a double and scored three times.
Starter
Trace Hodges moved his record to 2-0 by allowing only one earned run over six innings.
ABAC returns to Stallion Field Friday to begin a conference series against the Toppers from Blue Mountain Christian University. Friday's doubleheader begins at 2 p.m. with a single game Saturday at 1 p.m. wrapping up the series.
