Waldorf Baseball Returns Home with Another Win

PONCA CITY, Okla. – The Warrior Baseball team traveled to Ponca City, Oklahoma for another neutral site series. This time against the Bismarck State College Mystics. Waldorf took the first game 7-4 while Bismarck State won the next three 13-9, 12-3, and 8-5 respectively.

In Game 1, the Warriors flipped an early deficit with a decisive outburst in the second and never trailed again. Down 1-0 after a Bismarck RBI single in the first, Waldorf answered with five runs in the top of the second, highlighted by a two-run single from Randy Martinez and a sequence in which Andrew Herrin reached on a throwing miscue that allowed two more runs to score. The inning turned a one-run deficit into a 5-1 Warriors lead they carried the rest of the way. Waldorf added insurance in the fourth and seventh innings to keep Bismarck at arm's length and finishing with a 7-4 score. The Warriors finished with seven runs on nine hits, drawing four walks.

Pitcher Jack Kamalski set the tone on the mound for Waldorf in the opener, working 6 strong innings. Kamalski scattered four hits and allowed three runs while striking out six and not issuing a walk. He handed the ball off with a multi-run cushion, and the Warriors' defense closed out the seventh despite a late Bismarck push that included single runs in the fourth and seventh.

Martinez and Herrin led the Game 1 offense. Martinez drove in two runs, reached base three times (hit, walk, and hit-by-pitch) and was at the center of the Warriors' second-inning surge. Herrin also finished with two RBIs and a walk, capitalizing on Bismarck's throwing error during the five-run frame.

Bismarck State answered in Game 2. The Mystics jumped in front with five runs in the first inning, then added a run in the second and a five-run fourth to move in front by double digits. The Warriors fought back and scored three runs in the sixth inning and five runs in the seventh, but it wasn't enough to overtake Bismarck State.

In Sunday's first game, consecutive run-scoring hits allowed the Mystics to put themselves ahead early and for the game. Bismarck State used a four-run second inning and three total home runs to pull away in a 12-3 victory. The Mystics scored four times in the second and added single runs in the third and fourth before breaking the game open with a four-run fifth. Waldorf chipped away with single runs in the third, fifth, and seventh innings, but couldn't catch up to Bismarck State.

In the final game, the Mystics plated three runs in the top of the third, then added runs in the fourth and fifth to build a 5-1 advantage. Waldorf answered with a two-run fifth, sparked when Dylan Battye singled and Ryland Humphrey was hit by a pitch. Humphrey later scored on a fielder's choice, and Mason Smith added an RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-3.

The Warriors continued their push in the sixth, manufacturing two more runs to pull even. After Tyler Tamez reached and advanced, Battye delivered a run-scoring triple, then AJ Toulouse followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 5-5. Bismarck State responded immediately in the top of the seventh, reclaiming control with three runs and finishing the game 8-5.

Waldorf travels to Florida this weekend to compete against several teams before they return home and prepare for conference play on March 14 at Doane University in Crete, Nebraska.