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Box Score 2 PHOENIX, AZ --- The Arizona Christian University Firestorm baseball team split Saturday's doubleheader with the Westmont Warriors by finals of 6-4 and then 3-11 at the Firestorm Baseball field on the campus of Arizona Christian University.
The Firestorm are now 2-1 on the season and 2-1 in GSAC play. The Westmont Warriors; who are receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Baseball Poll move to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in GSAC play.
In game one on Saturday, the Firestorm got on the board first thanks to an Anthony Balderama double that scored Jake Wakamatsu to give ACU the early 1-0 lead. Westmont would tie the score up in the top of the second inning on a sac-fly to even the score at one.
The Firestorm then rattled off the next five runs to take a commanding 6-1 lead heading to the top of the fourth inning. The Warriors then scored two runs in the top half of the fourth inning and another run in the seventh, but in the end fell 6-4.
Dylan Waugh (1-0) picked up the victory for the Firestorm in his 1.2 innings of relief; that saw him allow just one hit with a walk and a strikeout. Dean Jackson (1) earned the save, pitching a scoreless ninth while allowing two hits and recording one strikeout. Westmont starter Sam Sheehan (0-1) took the loss after allowing six runs on five hits and allowing five walks in just two and two-thirds of an inning pitched.
Christopher Burks led the Firestorm in game one, going 4-for-5 at the plate with a run scored and three RBI's.
Game two was another story, as the Westmont Warriors scored early and often. Westmont plated three runs in the top of the second inning, before ACU got on the board to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Warriors then tacked on three runs in the fifth inning and another five runs in the top of the sixth to take a commanding 11-1 lead. The Firestorm scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but that would be all for ACU as they suffered their first defeat in 2015 by a final of 11-3 to Westmont.
Andrew Vasquez (1-0) picked up the win for Westmont, tossing four inning while allowing one run on no hits with six walks and just two strikeouts. ACU starter Colten Wheeler (0-1) took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits with one walk.
The Firestorm will now hit the road for the next few weekends, as they face Concordia University next Friday and Saturday in Irvine, California, before traveling to Costa Mesa, California the following weekend to face Vanguard. ACU returns home on February 13th and 14th for a three-game set against The Master's College Mustangs.
