Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 Salina, Kan. - Friends went up to Salina over the weekend for a huge series against the 17th ranked Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes. In the three game series the Falcons were able to grab one win. The Falcons offense would hit the ball out of the park 8 times over the weekend against a powerful Coyote team, showing signs of some power in the lineup late in the season. 


Game 1

The Coyotes got off early against the Falcons with a three run 1st inning. A two run home run from Chris Finocchario and an RBI ground out put them up 3-0 after one inning of play.

Friends bounced back in the 3rd inning with a grand slam from Elijah Morales and a solo shot from Hudson Sharp. The Falcons would take a 5-4 lead after three innings. 

In the 4th KWU would answer with a three run inning with a couple of RBI singles to put them up 7-5. 

The 5th inning was big for both squads, having a total of 9 runs scored in this inning. Elijah Morales would hit his second home run of the game, scoring Bernie Socarras. The Falcons would grab their second grand slam of the game from Miles Hartman. With some sloppy defensive play from the Falcons, KWU would get two runs in their half making the score 11-10 Falcons. 

The Coyotes 8th inning would be the most pivotal in this game. KWU would tie the game with an RBI double by Blake Dale making it 11-11. The four defensive errors committed from the Falcons would end up biting them in the end of this first game. A failed pick off attempt would score the Coyotes two more runs giving them a 13-11 lead going into the 9th.

The long ball was flying today for the Falcons offense as they would have 5 home runs in the home run explosion. This type of offense is not something we have seen from Friends this season, as they have shown to be a more small ball type of ball club. In the 9th Bernie Socarras would join the home run parade with a solo shot of his own.

In the end the Falcons would come up short in this exciting game losing 13-12. The four defensive errors were the decider in this game for Friends but showed some fight with the offensive explosion as we get deeper into the season.

Game 2

KWU in the second of a doubleheader would get another run in the 1st inning with a solo home run from Carter Allen. 

Friends would answer back with runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings. Holden Sabor would score on an error from the Coyotes to tie the game. Hayden Carbone would score on a wild pitch to take the lead in the 2nd. In the 3rd the Falcons went back to their power with a 3-run home run from Holden Sabor and a 2-run shot from Dominic Arrellano. 

KWU would get a 2-run home run from Garrett Garfield and end the 3rd inning with a Friends 7-3 lead. 

Friends would continue to swing the bat well in the 4th scoring three runs. Hudson Sharp had an RBI groundout and Elijah Joseph would hit an RBI single. This would jolt the Falcons in a comfortable 10-3 lead in the top half of the 4th. 

The Coyotes would also do well with the long ball throughout this whole series as they would get three solo home runs in 4th and 5th to cut the Friends lead down to 4. 

Seve Sissac would serve a important relief appearance in this game. Sissac went 2.0 innings not allowing a run while striking out two. Sissac has been very efficient throwing strikes and not allowing walks for Friends. Sissac has 21/4 strikeout to walk ratio which has helped the Falcons in the late game situations. 

Elijah Morales would hit his 3rd home run of the day, this one would be a 3-run shot to make the Friends lead 13-6. Sissac would close this game out for the Falcons and they would achieve the upset over the Coyotes splitting the doubleheader played Saturday (Mar. 21). 

Game 3

The final game of the series was a rubber match for the series, in which KWU would take in convincingly 9-4. 

Compared to the doubleheader that was on Saturday (Mar. 22) this game had a slow start. With the first two innings having no runs. Jackson Walls would start this game for the Falcons and go 4.0 innings allowing two earned runs and striking out one. 

Friends would score first in the top of the 3rd inning. A Bernie Socarras RBI single would score Xavier Champ and Noah Gagol. The Coyotes answered back with an RBI double to tie the game at 2-2 after three innings of play. 

Friends would continue to score in the 4th inning with  Holden Sabor and Miles Hartman both hitting RBI singles, putting the Falcons up 4-2. 

The 5th inning for KWU would be big enough for them to take the lead. The Coyotes would score three runs from the long ball with a 2-run shot and a solo shot. The Coyotes would take a 5-4 lead after five innings. 

The 8th inning for the Coyotes would be the big inning to close out the series. Carter Allen would hit a 3-run home run to take the life out of Friends. Fernando Ruvalcaba would tack on one more run with an RBI double to make it 9-4 KWU. 

The Falcons would drop the series to No. 17 KWU, but they did show some signs of powerful hitting. Friends (15-16) will have a game on Tuesday (Mar. 24) against Sterling College, looking to get back in the win column and back to .500. The game will be in Sterling at 3:00.