South Western Mustangs

HANOVER, Pa. — Jaden Freeze singled on the third pitch he saw all season, stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Seth Sullivan single through the right side — and the South Western Mustangs never looked back. The Mustangs parlayed that first-inning energy into a 5-2 victory over the Gettysburg Warriors on a cool Thursday afternoon to open the 2026 campaign with 10 hits and zero errors.

Freeze was electric from the start, both on the rubber and at the plate. He retired the Warriors in order in the first, struck out the side in the second, and worked around a leadoff double by A. Keller in the third to keep Gettysburg off the scoreboard through three frames. He finished his outing with five strikeouts on 63 pitches before moving to center field in the fourth.

That move to the outfield coincided with the only rough patch of the day. Landon Fisher took over on the mound in the fourth and immediately ran into trouble. Back-to-back walks to N. Reinert and Keller put two aboard, and both runners swiped bags to move into scoring position. C. Shull made Fisher pay with a two-run single up the middle that gave Gettysburg a 2-1 lead — the Warriors' only lead of the afternoon.

It didn't last long. The Mustangs answered in the bottom of the fifth with a rally that flipped the game for good. Freeze led off with a single and promptly stole second. Colton Resetar then delivered the biggest swing of the game — a two-RBI single to center that scored Freeze and brought home another run to put South Western ahead 3-2. Resetar was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double on the relay, but the damage was done. Jason Reese followed with a triple to deep right, though he was left stranded at third when Connor Brennan grounded out to second.

South Western put the game away in the sixth with a textbook two-out rally. Sullivan drew a walk and Braden Wolf lined a single, bringing up Ethan Smith, who laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners. Josiah Floyd was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and McKoy Knaub delivered the dagger — a two-RBI single that plated Sullivan and the courtesy runner for Wolf, stretching the lead to 5-2. Resetar grounded into an inning-ending double play, but South Western had all the runs they would need.

Wolf, who moved from third base to the mound in the sixth, was untouchable in relief. He retired all six batters he faced over the final two innings, striking out three, and did not allow a baserunner. His 24-pitch, 18-strike outing slammed the door shut.

Floyd was a nuisance on the bases all afternoon, going 2-for-2 with a stolen base and a run scored. Reese's four total bases led the team. Fisher earned the win despite the rocky fourth, and the three-headed pitching staff combined to hold Gettysburg to just two hits while fanning nine.

South Western (1-0) travels to Spring Grove on Monday for their first road test of the young season.