Warriors Split their First Four Games in Florida

WINTER HAVEN and DAVENPORT, Fla. – The Warriors traveled to Florida for their Spring Break trip with eight games scheduled. In the first half of the trip, they went 2-2, bringing home wins against Grand View University (11-2) and Calumet College of St. Joseph (25-6) and falling to University of Fort Lauderdale (7-2) and New College of Florida (8-3).

Game 1 vs Grand View University:

A pair of late offensive eruptions and a steady start on the mound pushed Waldorf to an 11-2 win over Grand View. The Warriors broke open a tight game with a five-run sixth inning and a four-run seventh, turning a one-run contest into a comfortable victory. Waldorf finished with 11 runs on 11 hits, scoring in five different innings while committing no errors defensively. The Warriors first grabbed the lead in the second inning when Ryland Humphrey lined a double to left field to score Mason Smith for a 1-0 advantage. Grand View answered in the bottom half on a run-scoring double. Cameren Rindone started the separation in the fifth, driving a solo home run to center field to put Waldorf in front 2-1. Waldorf then put the contest firmly in hand in the sixth, posting five runs, highlighted by a two-run single from Martinez that extended the margin to 7-1. Grand View briefly halted the momentum in the bottom of the sixth, cutting the deficit to 7-2, but Waldorf responded immediately in the seventh. An RBI single from Toulouse and two runs scoring on an error charged to the Vikings fueled a four-run frame that stretched the lead to 11-2. On the mound, Jack Kamalski delivered a quality outing to earn the win. The right-hander worked 6.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts over 78 pitches.

Game 2 vs University of Fort Lauderdale:

A five-run sixth inning by the University of Fort Lauderdale proved decisive as Waldorf dropped a 7-2 decision. Waldorf played from in front early, scratching across a run in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead and carrying that advantage into the middle innings. The Warriors' pitching staff limited Fort Lauderdale to just two hits through four frames before the Eagles finally broke through with a two-run fifth to move in front, 2-1. Waldorf answered with a run in the sixth to pull even at 2-2. The game turned in the bottom half of that same inning. Fort Lauderdale sent 10 batters to the plate and pushed across five runs in the sixth to seize control, 7-2. The Warriors weren't able to score again in the top of the seventh, ending the game in a loss 7-2.

Game 3 vs Calumet College of St. Joseph:

Waldorf exploded for 11 runs in the sixth inning and rolled past Calumet (Ind.) 25-6. The Warriors scored in five of seven innings, piling up 16 hits and drawing 16 walks to take command early. In the first inning, Smith set the tone at the top of the order and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Cameron Bailey. Rindone then scored on a single from Andrew Herrin to open a 2-0 lead. After a scoreless second, the Warriors erupted for seven runs in the third. The Warriors continued to build on the advantage in the middle innings. Waldorf added a single run in the fourth, then posted four more in the fifth. The decisive frame came in the sixth, when Waldorf turned a comfortable lead into a full runaway. Already ahead 14-2, the Warriors sent a wave of hitters to the plate and broke the game open. Martinez ripped a two-run double to make it 20-2, and pinch-hitter Hayden Connor delivered the biggest swing of the game, a four-RBI home run that pushed the margin to 25-2 and effectively sealed the outcome. The Warriors limited Calumet to single runs in only two frames until the seventh, when Calumet mounted a final push. Trailing 25-2, Calumet scored four times in the last inning, taking the score to 25-6, and the Warriors another earned their second win of the trip.

Game 4 vs New College of Florida:

The Warriors fell 8-3 to New College of Florida, whose four-run fourth inning turned a 3-1 lead into a 7-1 advantage that Waldorf could not erase. In the top of the third, Humphrey tripled and came home on a run-scoring single from Zane Silos-Holmes to pull the Warriors even at 1-1. That answer was short-lived, however, as New College of Florida responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning and four in the fourth inning. They continued to apply pressure to the Warriors in the fourth and fifth innings. The Warriors mounted a response in the sixth by plating two runs. It started with an RBI groundout from Rindone with another added when Bailey reached on an error that allowed Smith to score, trimming the deficit to 7-3. New College of Florida answered again in the bottom half with a single run to push the lead back out to 8-3. When the Warriors couldn't score in the top of the seventh, the game ended with New College of Florida taking the win.

Waldorf continues with the last four games of their Spring Break trip.