FULTON, Mo. - Westminster baseball opened the 2018 season 2-0 after a double-header sweep of Robert Morris-Peoria capped off by a walk off RBI from Adam Mundle.
The offensive for the Blue Jays got off to a strong start in the opening game of the season. Will Stonecipher opened his year with a two-run homer in the first inning, scoring Ryan Clavin after he drew a walk.
Westminster added another insurance run in the third inning. Mason Price started the rally with a walk, advancing to second on a single from Braden Beeler. A single from Ryan Klimkiewicz made the score 3-0 in favor of the Blue Jays.
The Eagles added a run on a solo homerun in the fifth, but it be the only offense from the squad in the game. In the sixth, Nick Bohlmann added another Blue Jay run to make the final score 4-1.
Ian Cassidy earned the win in his first game as a Blue Jay, pitching all seven innings and giving up just one run on five hits, walking one and striking out nine.
In game two, the Blue Jays got out to a slow start. Alex Dickneite earned the start for the Blue Jays and gave up three runs in the first three innings, including two homeruns.
Westminster finally got on the board in the sixth, with Clavin scoring Blake Strebler on a fielder's choice. In the same inning, Stonecipher added his second homerun of the day to make the score 3-2. Klimkiewicz added the tying RBI with a single that skipped down the third baseline to score Mason Price.
Despite catching up late in the game, Westminster gave up a three-run homer in the seventh to find themselves down 6-3 with two more innings left to play. After adding another run in the seventh on a RBI from Price, the ninth inning proved to be comeback time for the Blue Jays, who scored three runs in the inning to take home the win.
Strebler and Clavin were walked on eight pitches to start the inning which brought Stonecipher to the plate. His hot streak continued, adding a single and an RBI for his fourth of the day, making the score 6-5 with no outs and two runners on base.
Mason Price stepped up to the plate and was intentionally walked. Beeler put the ball in play during his at bat, and Clavin scored by an error from the Eagles shortstop, tying the game.
Klimkiewicz put a ball in play in center field, but not deep enough for a sacrifice fly. Mundle came up to bat and hammered a ball deep into right field to the wall, which was enough to score Stonecipher for the game-winning run.
Andrew Boessen took home the win after pitching three innings, giving up no runs and just one hit while striking out two.
Westminster returns to Saucier Field to face Robert Morris-Peora Sunday afternoon to earn the weekend sweep.
