Wichita, Kan.— The Spires were held to two hits this afternoon as the Friends Falcons (KS) pulled away for a 10-0 victory in seven innings, using steady early scoring and a five-run seventh to decide the final outcome.

Friends took control in the first inning and never gave it back. Morales opened the scoring with a single to center that brought home Hartman, and Sharp added an RBI ground out later in the inning for a 2-0 lead. The Falcons added one run in each of the next three innings, with Hartman lifting a sacrifice fly in the second, Morales driving in Socarras with a single in the third, and Miller singling home Hartman in the fourth to make it 5-0.

The USM starter Moises Soriano worked through six innings and limited the damage after the early push, allowing five runs on eight hits with four walks and one strikeout. The Spires stayed error-free in the field, but the offense could not solve Friends right-hander Black, who threw a complete-game seven-inning shutout.

Friends broke the game open in the seventh. Champ started the rally with an RBI single, Hartman followed with a two-run single, Miller added another run-scoring hit, and Socarras capped the inning with his third double of the day, driving in Hartman for the final 10-0 margin. The Falcons finished with 12 hits, seven walks and seven stolen bases.

The Spires would finish with two hits, one apiece from Jaxon Sloan and John Caime, drew one walk from Saul Vazquez-Alvarado and left three runners on base.

For the Spires, the clean defensive effort was a positive on a day when the Spires' pitching staff was pressured throughout by a Friends lineup that consistently created traffic on the bases. USM and Friends will pick up where they left off tomorrow Saturday, April 18th with games two and three of the series starting again at noon in Wichita.