[Baseball] Baseball Falcons march into KCAC Postseason Tournament Winner's Bracket with 10-4 ...
WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons got a timely start on the mound from Daniel Jaime (SO/Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and three RBIs each from Dakota Harding (JR/Wichita, Kan.) and All-KCAC performer Zeke Henson (SO/Raymore, Mo. ) in defeating the Tabor College Bluejays 10-4 today (May 3) on the first day of the KCAC postseason tournament at the Great Bend Sports Complex in Great Bend, Kan. The Falcons and Bluejays were quite familiar with each other, as the two teams squared off the final regular season series last weekend in Wichita. Tabor won two of three, but Friends won the first game Saturday (Apr. 29) 19-9 in the game that ultimately punched the Falcons' ticket to the postseason tourney.
Henson got the Falcons off to a good start with a two-run single in the second and scored the third run of the inning on a single by Pablo Oden (SR/Hollywood, Fla.).
After Cole Hijaz got the Bluejays on the board with a solo homer in the fifth, the Falcons came alive again in the seventh with a sacrifice fly from Niquan Benjamin (SO/US Virgin Islands) and then a two-run blast by Devon Lujan (SO/Olathe, Kan.) for a 6-1 lead.
A two-run double by Brady Cardozo brought the Bluejays within three runs, but the Falcons were undeterred as Harding doubled in Sam Engberg (JR/Kearney, Neb. ) and courtesy runner Ryan Sylvester (SO/Tallahassee, Fla) was chased home on a single by Henson in the eighth.
Harding then capped the game in style with a two-run double that plated both Engberg and DJ Killion (SO/Arvada, Colo.) in the ninth.
Jaimie won for the fifth time this season in his most important start, lasting six innings with two earned runs allowed and four strikeouts. Spencer Davidson (SO/Delphos, Kan), Matt Postier (SO/Wichita, Kan.) and Vincent Vigil (FR/Tampa, Fla. ) then each pitched an effective inning of relief to back up Jaime and put the finishing touches on the win.
Harding and Buster Hardman (JR/American Fork, Utah) each had three hits for the Falcons, with Engberg scoring three runs.
Cardozo and Micah Dvorak led the Bluejays with two hits apiece.
The sixth-seeded Falcons will now face second-seeded (RV) McPherson College tomorrow morning (May 4) at 11 am.