Arizona Western baseball wins home opener behind seven shutout innings from Gil Franco

YUMA, Ariz., (KYMA, KECY) - Following a trip to Las Vegas to open the 2023 season where the Matadors baseball team split at 2-2, they opened up their home schedule at Walk Kammann Field.

After hopping on the board early on and carrying a 5-0 lead in to the late innings, Northeastern nabbed two runs in the 8th inning to keep it close.

But that was after Juan Gil Franco pitched seven shutout innings to set the Matadors up for the win.

In the 9th inning, Roland Marte came on to close it out and he did it with ease - striking out the side in order and giving the Matadors the home opening win.

Oskar Stark led the way with a two-run home run, followed by Ben Fierenzi and Gabriel Perez who each went 2-4 with an RBI.

The Matadors take on Northeastern again on Saturday in a double-header starting at 12 pm.