Warrior baseball gets a win against Dakota State

Sterling College played a long series against Dakota State University with back-to-back double headers on Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1. The Warriors got off to a slow start losing both games on Friday, 14-1 and 5-1, but were able to answer back with a 5-2 win on Saturday followed by a 21-11 loss.

Game 1

Sterling College came out cold, struggling to get anything going in game one while Dakota State came out hot. The Trojans scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back seeming to run away with the game from the onset.

Andrew Dutro finally got the Warriors on the board with a single to right field which allowed Tyler Gates to make it home in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Nehemiah started things off for the Warriors on the mound facing 17 batters, pitching 40 strikes on 71 pitches, walking three batters, striking out two, and surrendering four hits that led to five runs.

Game 2

The Warriors were able to keep the game closer in the second game of the day only giving up five runs on eight hits.

Dakota State was the first to score as Camaron Haller made it home on an error from Luis Morales at short stop in the second innings. Cassidy Watt extended the Trojans lead with a single RBI homer in the fourth and a sacrifice fly from Darcy Barry which allowed for Haller to get another score.

Sterling started to get traction in the fifth inning when Ezavien Campos doubled to right field advancing James Easter home. Dutro also got an RBI in the fifth with a single to right field that allowed Emmanuel Huerta Cardenas to score.

However, the Warriors ran out of steam and were unable to overtake the Trojans lead as they extended it with a sacrifice fly from Haller to bat in Cameron DeMaria to give Dakota state the 5-2 win.

Jace Phillips started things off for the Warriors on the mound pitching three innings, facing 17 batters, throwing 45 strikes on 75 pitches, striking out four batters while walking two and surrendering three hits which turned into three runs.

Aaron Elsasser came in to relieve Phillips. He finished out the remaining four innings, facing 18 batters, throwing 28 strikes on 43 pitches, surrendering five hits that resulted in two runs.

Game 3

Sterling had a much better answer in the third game of the series, getting a 5-2 win over the Trojans.

It looked like the same story in the first inning when Haller singled up the middle to bat in DeMaria and Aiden Perry in the first inning to give Dakota State the early 2-0 lead.

However, the Warriors kept their composure and answered back with five runs in the fourth inning. Dutro got it started for Sterling with a double to advance Cardenas for the score. Austin Santiago followed with a single up the middle which resulted in a two run RBI with Dutro and Morales crossing home plate.

Jason Smith, not wanting to lose out on the action, tripled to right field bringing in Jackson Parmenter and Santiago for the two run RBI.

On the mound, Aaron Alvarado carried the Warriors for the entire game, facing 28 batters, throwing 60 strikes on 106 pitches, walking four batters while striking out three and surrendering three hits that resulted in two runs.

Game 4

Dakota State answered back quickly in the fourth game, scoring 13 runs in the first inning which eventually led to a 21-11 Trojan win.

Even after a daunting first inning performance, the Warriors did not go away quietly. Dutro answered back with an RBI of his own in the bottom of the first inning with a single up the middle that ran in Gates.

Gates scored again in the third inning when Santiago was walked. Parmenter hit a sacrifice fly out to right field to run in Morales and Campos singled to right center allowing Dutro to run home.

Sterling continued to battle scoring two more runs in the fourth, followed by one run in the fifth and four in the seventh. However, Dakota State's lead was too large for the Warriors to overcome.

Dutro, Santiago, Parmenter and Campos each had 2 RBIs for the Warriors and Gates led Sterling in runs with three.

Tyreek Sherman started on the mound for Sterling, giving up six hits for a total of eight runs. Joseph Haynes faced the most batters for the Warriors, with 20. He threw 48 strikes on 78 pitches, surrendering six hits which turned into five runs (one earned) for the Trojans while walking none and striking out two over four innings.

Sterling's next match up will be Tuesday, March 4 at Bethany College, a rescheduled game from mid-February.

Be sure to check for news and updates on Sterling Warrior Athletics on Facebook (/SCWarriors), Twitter (@SterlingCSports), and Instagram (sterlingcsports), as well as the hashtag #swordsup. Watch all of the Warriors' live home events on the Sterling College Sports Network.