SEWARD, Neb. – Midland University traveled to Seward, Nebraska for the start of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Postseason Tournament on Thursday. The 5th-seeded Warriors faced 4th-seeded Briar Cliff University in the first game on the day at Plum Creek Park in Seward. Playing in a hitter-friendly ballpark, an eventful game full of home runs broke out. Midland hit five over the fence on its way to the 12-10 victory.
Hadyn Crawford ignited the game with a solo home run in the 1st. The lead grew an inning later as Garrett Freeman added to the momentum with a homer, bolstering Midland’s lead to 2-0.
The Chargers broke their silence in the bottom of the 2nd, tying the game with a two-run homer.
After a couple of quiet innings, Tyler Struck kickstarted the 5th with a single. As Ben Kirkland came in as a courtesy runner, Yealex Lopez hit a single, positioning Warriors on the corners with one out. Crawford stepped back up to the plate and delivered a three-run homer, pushing the Warriors in front 5-2.
Briar Cliff chipped away at the gap with a run in the 6th as they strung together three hits.
Lopez sparked the Warriors’ offense with a leadoff double in the 7th, setting the stage as Crawford crushed a ball over the left field fence for his third home run of the day. Joshua Hardamon added a double which was followed by a single from Deven Gomez, scoring Hardamon. Freeman’s double advanced Gomez to third, and after Alec Villanueva was hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded with no outs. Jacob Liquori delivered a grand slam over the right field fence extending the Warriors’ lead to 12-3.
In the bottom of the 7th, the Chargers sought to close the margin and did so with a three-run home run. They continued to fight back with four more runs in the 8th, reeling the audience back in for the final inning with Midland leading 12-10.
Briar Cliff did most of its damage after starter Owen Kelley went six innings with 10 strikeouts while giving up 5 hits and 3 runs. In the 8th, Brandon Creps came on to earn the four-out save. He allowed no hits or runs while striking out three Chargers.
Statistical Standouts
- Yealex Lopez: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B
- Hadyn Crawford: 3-for-5, 3 R, 6 RBI, 3 HR
- Joshua Hardamon: 3-for-5, R, 2B
- Deven Gomez: 1-for-4, R, RBI
- Garrett Freeman: 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR
- Jacob Liquori: 1-for-5, R, 4 RBI, HR
- Owen Kelley: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 10K
- Brandon Creps: 1.1 IP, 3 K
Midland (31-17) advances to face Concordia. The matchup is scheduled for noon on Friday, May 3 at Plum Creek Park in Seward.
