Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 2/8/2026 Conway, AR - The Westminster Blue Jays opened their 2026 season on the road, as they usually do, heading to Conway, Arkansas, to face the Hendrix Warriors, with ace Derek Archer getting the opening-day nod.

Game 1: Hendrix 16 - Westminster 15 

The senior, who has had one of the most accomplished careers on the current roster, did not see the same success in Friday's season opener. He was unable to make it out of the first inning after giving up six earned runs. Facing a six-run deficit, the Jays showed a trait that will get them very far this year: fight. After a three-run second, four-run fourth, and five-run fifth, the Jays found themselves in the lead, with each inning featuring a two-out rally—a testament to the fight they showed all weekend. These big innings came in large part due to Caleb Warren, Braeden Eye, and Beno Ballard, who all finished the game with multiple hits and numerous RBIs. Eye led the scoring charge with four RBIs to his name. The Blue Jays' offense could only get them so far, however. Hendrix scored three unanswered runs in the bottom of the eighth to ultimately win and hand Westminster its first loss of the year.

Game 2: Hendrix 12 - Westminster 2 

Colyn Wright took the mound for game two of the series for his first career start. The hard-throwing right-hander was used exclusively out of the bullpen last year, but he has shown he has what it takes to be a starter after a very impressive fall campaign. His outing started with a gut punch: Hendrix's Shaun Pope led off the first inning with a homer. The outing only unraveled from there as the sophomore was chased after an inning and two-thirds, giving up 5. The bullpen struggled afterward, giving up seven runs, no thanks to 5 errors. The combination of sloppy defense, inconsistent pitching, and an unusually quiet offence resulted in a 12-2 loss, bringing the Blue Jays to 0-2 on the year, needing to fight to avoid the sweep.

Game 3: Westminster 5 - Hendrix 1 

Needing a win, the Blue Jays called upon star pitcher Jack Page to bring them the inaugural win of the season; the sophomore did just that. And then some. Page dominated the Warriors, posting 6 innings of no-hit ball with 11 strikeouts to add onto his already impressive outing. Succeeding Page out of the bullpen was Sophomore Tayden Harlow, who posted two very strong shutout innings of his own. While the pitching staff was the story of the game, the offense came through in key moments, too. They continued their pattern of key two-out hitting, scoring two runs in back-to-back innings–both coming in the form of two-out rallies. In the 4th, Brett Montgomery and Beno Ballard both worked two out walks before being driven in by a clutch double from Domenic Nordmann. In the following inning, senior standout Troy Romero got the two-out rally started by singling and then doing what he does best, swiping second base. Romero was driven in by a red-hot Braeden Eye, who singled and scored another run as a result of an RBI double from James Dolly. The Blue Jays would hold on to win this 5-1, after freshmen Max Blackburn and Maddox Christenberry closed the door on a Hendrix 9th inning rally. This key getaway day win puts their season record at 1-2.

Ranked 5th in the SLIAC preseason poll with some very strong teams ranked above them, the Jays will have to battle their way through conference play, and games
like these show they have what it takes. Although there are obvious areas to improve upon, as there always are in an opening series, the Blue Jays showed the trait that we keep coming back to: fight. Westminster looks to add a couple more wins and improve to over. 500 on Valentines day in Abilene, Texas, against Hardin Simmon before returning to Arkansas to play two more against the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville the following day.