TALLADEGA, Ala. – The Talladega College baseball team swept a conference doubleheader this afternoon at home against Oakwood College. The Tornadoes took game one 18-0 and picked up a 17-1 win in game two.
Talladega is 22-8 overall and 16-1 in the conference while Oakwood is 0-21 and 0-11 in the HBCUAC.
The Tornadoes are back home tomorrow at noon when they look for the sweep against Oakwood.
Game 1: Talladega 18, Oakwood 0 – 7 innings
Talladega jumped out an early 2-0 lead in its half of the first, it started when Joshua Catala Santos was plunked and later moved to second when
Victor Rivera was walked. Both runners then executed the double steal to move to second and third. They later came around to score when
Miguel Oropeza drove them in off his single to right center before the inning ended.
The Tornadoes added to their lead at the bottom of the second and it started with a solo home run to left field off the bat of
Armando Jackson to make it, 3-0.
Jonathan Williams then reached first after being hit by a pitch and later ended up on third when
Jeriel Lamboy dropped a single into left. Lamboy took second on the play. Following back-to-back outs, Oropeza's two-run single to center drove in Williams and Lamboy to make it, 5-0. Oropeza then stole second and third with two down. He later scored off of
Jahir Cruz's RBI double down the left field line to push it to a 6-0 lead.
Talladega added eight runs in the third, two in the fourth, and two more in the sixth to push its lead to 18-0 to secure the victory.
The Tornado pitching allowed just two hits through the first four innings and a walk later in the game.
Starting pitcher
Emilio Duque struck out six and scattered two hits over four innings of work to earn the win (5-1).
Oropeza finished the game going 4-for-4 with nine RBIs, two runs scored, a double, and two stolen bases. Teammate Cruz also was 4-for-4 with a run scored, two doubles, and RBI.
Jackson and Lamboy combined going 6-for-7 with four runs scored, two RBIs, and a home run.
Game 2: Talladega 17, Oakwood 1 – 7 inning
The Tornadoes took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, it started with
Fernando Crisostomo singled to left with one down. He later was lifted for pinch runner Catala Santos. He then stole second and then moved to third when
Fabian Quinones walked and Jackson was hit by the pitch to load the bases. Catala Santos later scored off of Williams' sacrifice fly to right before the inning ended.
Talladega added another run in the third to make it a 2-0 game.
Sebastian Pizarro opened the inning up with a walk and then moved up 90 feet off a wild pitch. Following a popout to first, Oropeza reached first following being hit by a pitch. Both runners then completed a double steal to move into scoring position. Cruz was able to get a pitch to lift out to center for a sacrifice fly to score Pizarro from third.
Headed into the bottom of the fourth, Talladega broke the game open when it plated 10 runs on five hits and two errors to make it, 12-0.
Each team in the fifth scored a run but the Tornadoes held the 13-1 lead and then they added four more runs in the sixth to secure a 17-1 win.
Starting pitcher
Samuel Guadamuz scattered two hits over five innings of work to pick up his sixth (6-1) win of the season. He struck out a game-high seven and allowed one run.
The Tornadoes finished with five extra-base hits as a team with four doubles and a triple.
Crisostomo paced all Talladega hitters with three hits while Oropeza collected two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored. He also had a double.
Jackson tallied a game-high three RBIs while going 1-for-3 with a run scored and a double.
Fabian Quinones scored three runs while tallying four walks.
