No. 13 Warriors Split with Jamestown on Senior Day

FREMONT, Neb. – After many games in cool temperatures this Spring, the weather warmed up for Senior Day as No. 13 Midland University hosted the University of Jamestown on Saturday afternoon. Temperatures exceeded 80 degrees by the time of the first pitch and the Warriors' offensive flourished with a runaway 15-2 win in game one. The Jimmies picked up its defense and pitching in game two, and after gifting the Warriors new life in the seventh inning of game two, they regrouped to earn a split with a 3-1 win in extra innings.

GAME ONE: Midland 15, Jamestown 2

Just like the weather, the Warriors were hot in the opener with four runs in the home half of the 1st. Emily Prai led off with a single, then moved up to second with a stolen base. Reese Floro promptly doubled to drive her in and then raced around to score herself as Roni Foote followed with a single. Amanda Schmaderer kept the hits coming as she singled to right field, putting runners on the corners.

With one out, Schmaderer stole second and then came in to score behind Foote as Matti Reiling hit a two-RBI double to the gap in left-center. The Jimmies went to their bullpen to calm the Warriors' attack, escaping the inning with four runs allowed on six hits.

In its next at-bat, Jamestown battled back with a one-out double followed by a pair of hits with two outs to cut the lead in half, 4-2.

Ariyana Crafton led off the 2nd with a single up the middle and then found herself on third with two outs. With Schmaderer at the plate, the Jimmies' pitcher threw one to the backstop and Crafton raced home to score on the wild pitch.

Following a scoreless 3rd from both sides and a scoreless top of the 4th by Jamestown, an offensive onslaught broke out.

Crafton got things going with a walk then was joined on the bases by Prai (bunt single) and Floro (single). With the bases full of her teammates, Foote drove in two runs with a single up the middle.

After another pitching change by the Jimmies, the wheels kept churning for the Warriors' offense. Schmaderer reached on an infield error and Vestal got on base with a fielder's choice. With the bases still loaded, a passed ball allowed Foote to score while the trail runners both moved up a base.

With two outs, Micaela Rodriguez came on for a single up the middle, scoring Schmaderer and Vestal. In her second plate appearance of the inning, Crafton came through with a two-RBI single to left, scoring Reiling and Halle Meyer.

Olivia Gardea entered to pinch hit and worked a walk. Chloe Wasielewski also came on to hit and doubled through the right side, scoring Crafton and Gardea, pushing the lead to an even dozen, 14-2. Foote delivered the final tally with an RBI single up the middle, scoring Wasielewski.

Aliyah Rincon, who has been one of the best pitchers in the conference, came on to wrap up the game one with three strikeouts in the top of the 5th.

Statistical Standouts

• Emily Prai: 3-for-3, 2 R
• Reese Floro: 2-for-3, R, RBI
• Roni Foote: 3-for-4, 2 R, 4 RBI
• Amanda Schmaderer: 1-for-3, 2 R
• Matti Reiling: 2-for-2, R, 2 RBI, BB
• Micaela Rodriguez: 1-for-1, 2 RBI
• Ariyana Crafton: 2-for-2, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB
• Aliyah Rincon: 5.0 IP, 9 K

GAME TWO: Jamestown 3, Midland 1 (9 innings)

After all of the offensive fireworks in the first game, the day's final game was a defensive battle. Midland rolled our Paeton Coler who went seven innings, scattering seven hits with a pair of strikeouts and allowing one run.

That run came in the 3rd as Jamestown turned a leadoff walk into a run with a sacrifice bunt, passed ball, and an RBI double.

Try as they might, Midland was unable to get into a rhythm at the plate. Through the first six innings, they were limited to three hits and a pair of walks as they were held scoreless. In the 7th, Matti Reiling led off the inning with a single to right. A sacrifice bunt by Jayci Reimers allowed her to get to second, and then third as the bag was left uncovered.

Ariyana Crafton worked a two-out walk and then as she stole second, the Jimmies' catcher made an unadvised throw down to try to get Reiling at third. The throw sailed wide and went down the left-field line, allowing the tying run to score and the winning run to move to third. Jamestown got out of the disastrous inning and the game went to extras.

In the 8th, the Jimmies threatened to regain the lead as they hit back-to-back singles. That brought a call to the bullpen for the Warriors, and Aliyah Rincon came on to get out of the inning without allowing a run.

The home half of the 8th saw Midland go down in order, pushing the game to inning number nine.

Jamestown hit back-to-back one-out singles and then got a clutch hit the skirted just inside the left-field line, allowing both runners to score.

Midland got a runner on base with a one-out walk in its at-bat but the brooms were kept in the closet as Jamestown picked up the 3-1 win.

Statistical Standouts

• Amanda Schmaderer: 1-for-3, BB
• Matti Reiling: 1-for-3, R, BB
• Jayci Reimers: 1-for-3, SAC

With the split, Midland (32-5, 11-1 GPAC) drops a game back in the conference standings. The Warriors will look to keep their one-game lead over Dordt (21-16, 8-2 GPAC) on Monday evening when they meet up for their rescheduled series. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in Sioux Center, Iowa.