May 4, 2010

RedStorm ready for next step of tourney trail

Rio Grande --- The University of Rio Grande RedStorm baseball team is making final preparations for the Mid-South Conference Final Four coming up this weekend in Campbellsville, Ky.

The RedStorm are the No. 2 seed and will face off with No. 3 seed Georgetown College on Thursday (May 6) at 1 p.m. The two teams split the season series, April 9-10 at Bob Evans Field. 

Rio Grande head coach Brad Warnimont has had a simple approach for this season and it will continue for the remainder of the tournament run. "Our approach has been to play them one out at a time, one inning at a time and out-scrap them and out-play them," he said. 

It has been a formula for success as Rio finished second in the MSC during the regular season and has amassed a school-record 44 wins. The RedStorm were picked to finish fourth in the MSC pre-season poll.

It doesn't hurt to be playing well heading into the tournament and the RedStorm appear to running like a well-oiled machine. "We're locked in, we're focused and we're hitting the ball extremely well," said Warnimont. "I think that's a good sign of things to come going into the conference tournament (semifinals)."

"You want to be playing your best ball and I think we're probably there," Warnimont added. 

All four of the top seeds advanced past the opening round and any of the four could come away with the prize. "We'll lock up with Georgetown in the first game, but we split with all the other teams, so I think it's anybody's game," Warnimont said. "You've got to bring your ‘A' game and be ready to play."

"We're going to need to be sharp going into this weekend," he added.

Rio split four games with top-seeded Campbellsville at home and lost two out of three to No. 4 seed St. Catharine on the road, but was leading 3-1 in the final game when it called due to rain. 

Campbellsville will square off with St. Catharine at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The two losing teams will play in an elimination game at 8 p.m. If Rio wins versus Georgetown, the RedStorm would face the winner of Campbellsville/St. Catharine at 4 p.m. on Friday (May 7). 

Stretch Internet will be providing play-by-play coverage of Rio's games beginning on Thursday at approximately 12:55 p.m.