April 3, 2010

RedStorm baseball rolls on

Rio Grande --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm baseball team continued their winning ways with a doubleheader sweep of Pikeville College on Saturday afternoon at Bob Evans Field. Rio bludgeoned Pikeville in game by an 18-1 score and eked out a 3-1 walk-off victory in game two.

Rio Grande (33-4, 15-1 MSC) increased its winning streak to 17 straight games. The RedStorm pounded out 18 hits in the first game, winning in five innings thanks to the mercy rule. Junior leftfielder Micheal Lynch (Cleveland, OH) went 2-for-3 and drove in five runs to pace the RedStorm offense. One of the two hits was a monstrous home run that cleared the scoreboard in right-center field.

Junior first baseman Francisco Ramirez (Columbus, OH) had a perfect game at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three RBI's. Senior third baseman Tyler Schunk (Cincinnati, OH), senior designated hitter Chris Mahon (Hamilton, OH) and senior rightfielder John Storey (Wheelersburg, OH) all went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Senior centerfielder Ryan Yakura (Pickering, ONT) was 1-for-2 with a home run and two runs knocked in and senior catcher Tyler Plumpton (Peterborough, ONT) went 1-for-2. 

Junior righthander Angel Santiago (Santa Isabel, PR) pitched the full five innings to collect his fifth win of the season without a defeat. Santiago allowed a solo home run in the second inning, which was the only knock of the game for Pikeville (3-22, 1-14 MSC). He struck out four and walked one.

Game two was a tight affair that went to extra innings before it was decided in a dramatic fashion as Plumpton clubbed a two-run walk-off home run to win it for the RedStorm. The blast was Plumpton's fifth of the season and his only hit of the game.

Rio Grande was held to five hits in game two. Ramirez accounted for the other run for Rio Grande with a solo home run in the fourth inning. Schunk was 1-for-3 with a double while Mahon and junior second baseman Christian Frias (Salinas, PR) recorded one hit each for Rio.

Freshman southpaw Ryan Robertson (Waverly, OH) went the distance for his second complete game of the season. Robertson (8-0) scattered five hits while striking out nine and walking one.

"I guess it was tale of two cities or whatever, the first game we knock out 18 hits and the second game we had three hits going into the bottom of the eighth and Frias hit a one-out single and Plumpton hits a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth to win the ball game," said Rio Grande head coach Brad Warnimont. "All of our runs in that game came on home runs. Francisco Ramirez gave us a 1-0 lead going into the seventh inning."

"Give Pikeville some credit, they battled and their pitcher threw an outstanding game," Warnimont added. "We've got to be a little better at the plate, we lost our approach a little bit, had way too many strikeouts, but wins are wins I guess this time of year, and in the conference, we'll take them." 

Rio Grande will step out of conference to face-off with Otterbein College on Monday afternoon at home for a single game. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. Stretch Internet will have play-by-play coverage beginning at 2:55 p.m.