Wichita, Kan.—

Game One:

A five-run second inning decided game one this afternoon as Friends defeated USM 10-0 in eight innings.

A pivotal stretch in Saturday's opening match up came in the bottom of the second for the Falcons. Sabor doubled to right-center and later scored on Joseph's sacrifice fly. Hartman then delivered a run-scoring triple, and Socarras and Morales followed with RBI singles to cap the five-run frame and give Friends a 5-0 lead. That sequence set the tone for a Friends lineup that finished with 12 hits, six walks and six stolen bases.

The Falcons added to the margin in each of the next few key spots. Hartman singled to left-center in the third inning to drive in Champ and make it 6-0. Morales pushed across another run with a single in the fourth. In the sixth, Socarras reached and moved to third on a catcher error, Sharp brought home a run on a bunt, and Fernald added a sacrifice fly for a 9-0 advantage. Morales closed the scoring in the eighth with a double to left-center that plated the game's final run.

USM was limited to four hits, one from Maverick Rockers, two hits from Lucas Barta, and one from Tim Wood. The Spires drew one walk and were struck by two pitches, but could not string together sustained offense against Friends starter Chase and the bullpen. Chase worked 6 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out four to earn the win. Friends' relievers handled the final 1 2/3 innings without allowing a run, completing the shutout on 109 total pitches with 72 strikes.

Socarras led the Friends offense by going 4 for 4 with four runs scored, one RBI, a double and a walk. Morales finished with three hits and three RBIs, while Hartman added two hits, including a triple, and drove in two runs.

Game Two:

The Spires would build a small cushion in the fifth inning of the final game of the series and then made it stand up, edging Friends (KS) 4-3 in a seven-inning game behind a three-hit day from Ian Maldonado and six steady innings from Nicholas Hotujac.

Saint Mary struck first in the opening inning when Maldonado lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing home Maverick Rockers for a 1-0 lead. Friends matched it in the bottom half as Morales singled to left to score Hartman. The Spires went back in front in the third when Saul Vazquez-Alvarado doubled and later scored on Maldonado's double down the left-field line, but Friends again had an answer when Socarras came home on Morales' RBI double to left-center, tying the game at 2-2.

With the game tied in the fifth, Sergio Fierro delivered an RBI single, and Sean Goings followed with a run-scoring ground out to push the Spires in front 4-2. That proved to be the difference after Friends answered with one run in the bottom of the seventh on Hartman's RBI ground out.

Maldonado finished 3 for 4 with two doubles, two RBIs and a sacrifice fly, leading an eight-hit effort for Saint Mary. Vazquez-Alvarado added a double, scored a run and reached once after being hit by a pitch. Fierro and Goings each drove in a run during the go-ahead fifth as the Spires capitalized on their best offensive inning of the afternoon.

Hotujac earned the win after working six innings. He allowed four hits, three runs, walked three and struck out three on 91 pitches. The USM pitching staff limited Friends to four hits overall and worked around three walks. Friends starter and staff combined to strike out eight, but the Spires made their chances count and finished error-free in the field.

The Falcons made the Spires work for the final out after cutting the lead to one in the seventh, but USM held on to finish the afternoon with the road win. The Spires will be back in action this Wednesday, April 22^nd in a non-conference match up against the Benedictine College Ravens at Laughlin Field at Olsen Stadium in Atchison, Kansas with first pitch set for 2:00 p.m.