Lions deal Rio a pair of one-run losses

Rio Grande Sports Information
     DAYTON, Tenn. - The University of Rio Grande was thhhiiisss close to recording a pair of wins and getting back to the .500 mark on the young season.
     Instead, the RedStorm endured two disappointing one-run setbacks which extended what has been a difficult start to the new campaign.
     Bryan College rallied from a pair of early deficits and then held on late for a 6-5 game one win, then rebounded from a five-run game two deficit for a 9-8 walkoff win in the nightcap in non-conference baseball action at Senter Field.
     The host Lions improved to 4-1 with the sweep.
     Rio Grande dropped to 2-6 with the two losses.
     The RedStorm jumped to a 2-0 first inning lead in the opener thanks to a two-run home run by junior AJ Thomas (Pickerington, OH), but Bryan went in front in the home third thanks to consecutive RBI singles by Daniel Dryden, Owen Napieralski and Bryson Lofton.
     Rio regained the lead in the fourth inning on a two-run homer by senior John Arcaro (Trinity, FL) before the Lions took the lead back in the home half of the frame thanks to a two-run triple by Parker Cosby.
     A solo home run by Bass Cooper pushed the BC lead to 6-4 in the fifth and set the stage for a comeback attempt by the RedStorm in their seventh and final at bat.
     Consecutive one-out hits by sophomore Angel De La Cruz Fermina (Santo Domingo, D.R.), senior Clayton Surrell (Carroll, OH) and junior Jakob Johnson (Pickerington, OH) made it 6-5 and put the tying run in scoring position with the would-be go-ahead marker at first base, but each of the next two batters struck out swinging to end both the threat and the game.
     Lofton finished 2-for-3 for Bryan, while starter Jacob Buffington went four innings to get the win and Chris Bayne recorded the final out to earn a save.
     Senior Trey White (Crooksville, OH), the second of three Rio pitchers, took the loss after allowing five hits and three runs over two innings.
     Johnson had two hits, including a double, for the RedStorm, while graduate senior Andrew Daria (Villa Hills, KY) finished 2-for-3.
     In game two, Bryan grabbed a 2-0 first inning lead before Rio countered with two runs in the second, two more markers in the third and three runs in the fourth inning to take a 7-2 lead.
     Junior Daniel Rutherford (Coal Grove, OH) had a two-run single in the second and a run-scoring hit in the third, while Thomas hit a solo homer in the third and a three-run blast - his third longball of the day - in the fourth.
     The Lions countered with five runs of their own in the fourth, highlighted by a three-run home run from Lofton, to tie the score and then went in front in the fifth on an RBI single by Lofton.
     Johnson hit a solo homer in the top of the sixth to knot the score at 8-8, but the hosts pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
     Dryden opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch as Napieralski was striking out. After Lofton popped out for the second out of the inning, Cooper was intentionally walked to set up a force play.
     Bradley Prince spoiled the plan, though, with a single that plated with Dryden with the winning run.
     Lofton finished 3-for-4 with five RBI, while Dryden, Prince and Danny Marquez all had two hits each in the win.
     Tanner Everette, the final of three Bryan hurlers, got the win. He allowed three hits and one run, while striking out four over three innings.
     Freshman Hayden Simon (Stouffville, Ontario, Canada), the last of four pitchers for Rio, suffered the loss.
     Thomas finished 3-for-4 with four RBI in the loss, while Rutherford was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Daria and freshman Griffin McMillian (Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada) also had two hits for the RedStorm.
     The teams complete their weekend series with another doubleheader of seven-inning contests on Saturday beginning at noon.