April 5, 2010

RedStorm pound Otterbein

Rio Grande --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm baseball team rolled to a 12-3 victory over Otterbein College on Monday afternoon at Bob Evans Field. The current winning streak for the RedStorm climbed to 18 straight games.

Rio Grande (34-4) started early with four runs in the opening inning. Three of the runs came on a home run off the bat of junior leftfielder Michael Lynch (Cleveland, OH). Lynch had a monster day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI's.

Junior first baseman Francisco Ramirez (Columbus, OH) continued swinging his hot bat as well. He went 3-for-4 with two RBI's.  Junior catcher Brad Konrad (Maumee, OH) added two hits, including a home run. Senior catcher Tyler Schunk (Cincinnati, OH) was 2-for-5 with an RBI. 

Senior rightfielder John Storey (Wheelersburg, OH) was 2-for-3 with a double and junior second baseman Christian Frias (Salinas, PR) was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI's. 

Rio pounded out 20 hits in the game. 

Sophomore Ryan Chapman (Racine, OH) overcame control issues to pick up the win. Chapman (4-3) lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and two runs (one earned). He struck out seven, walked three and hit two batters.   Junior lefty Jesse Brown (Mt. Pleasant, NC) gave up a run and two hits in 2 2/3 innings of relief with four strikeouts and one walk. Freshman Eric Ford (Chagrin Falls, OH) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to finish off the Cardinals.

David Cydrus (1-1) took the loss for Otterbein (9-5). He yielded 12 hits and eight runs while striking out five batters in five innings of pitching. 

Otterbein collected seven hits in the game. Brian Hiscox led the Otterbein offense, going 2-for-5. Wes Meadows was 1-for-3 with a solo home run. Clayton Clever also recorded an RBI hit for the Cardinals.

"Chappy (Ryan Chapman) hadn't been on the mound in a while and we needed him on the mound, he needed to get some innings in," said Rio Grande head coach Brad Warnimont. "Jesse got the kinks out a little bit and he settled down and threw well."

"You could see that they (Chapman and Brown) were rusty, I think once they brushed the rust off a little bit, I think they settled in and Eric Ford came in and he was throwing pretty hard," Warnimont added. "It was good to see him and get him some work."

"We got a lot of guys in again today and we're swinging the bat real well. We're in a good groove and I don't know what to say, they're doing a great job with the bats," he said. "They're making adjustments and that's what we need to do. I think that's' a sign of an upper class club, we've got juniors and seniors that are making adjustments with their swings."

"It's always nice to win, we'll keep rolling."

Rio's doubleheader with Ohio State-Marion scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled. Next up for the RedStorm - a four-game weekend set with Georgetown College. The Tigers are one game behind Rio Grande in the loss column in the Mid-South Conference standings. 

Game one is set for 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon. Stretch Internet will have play-by-play coverage beginning at 12:55 p.m.