RedStorm routs OCU in series opener

Rio Grande Sports Information
     CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande scored early and often and tied a season-high for runs in a game, cruising to a 20-8 rout of Ohio Christian University, Friday afternoon, in River States Conference baseball action at Olsen Field.
     The RedStorm improved to 19-21 overall and 10-9 in conference play with the win, snaring sole possession of fifth place in the RSC standings in the process.
     The top six teams will advance to the RSC Championship Tournament next month in Chillicothe, Ohio.
     Ohio Christian dropped to 12-23 overall and 9-10 in league play, falling into a tie for sixth place with WVU-Tech.
     Rio Grande scored in each of its nine at bats on Friday and equaled its season-high for scoring, established previously in a 20-1 rout of Alice Lloyd College on April 1.
     The RedStorm led 5-1 after 2-1/2 innings before the host Trailblazers scored three times in both the third and fourth frames to forge a 7-7 tie but, from that point on, it was all Rio.
     After scoring once in both the fifth and sixth innings to regain the advantage, the RedStorm lowered the boom down the stretch with four runs in the seventh, three eighth inning markers and four more runs in the ninth.
     Rio Grande banged out a season-high 21 hits, including four by junior AJ Thomas (Pickerington, OH), who finished 4-for-6 with a home run and five RBI.
     Junior Daniel Rutherford (Coal Grove, OH) was 3-for-7 with a double and drove in four runs, while sophomore Angel De La Cruz (Santo Domingo, D.R.) had three hits and three RBI of his own.
     Senior Clayton Surrell (Carroll, OH) finished 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and five runs scored, while junior Darius Jordan (Minford, OH) was 3-for-6 with a run batted in and sophomore Alex Scoular (Whitby, Ontario, Canada) had two hits, including a double, and a run batted in.
     Rio's offensive onslaught also included a pair of hits from graduate senior Andrew Daria (Villa Hills, KY) and two runs batted in from junior Trey Carter (Wheelersburg, OH).
     Sophomore Reid Shultz (Minford, OH) earned the win in relief of freshman starter Jacob Napier (Alexandria, KY), allowing three hits and a run over 3-2/3 innings.
     Senior Trey White (Crooksville, OH) also tossed 2-1/3 innings of two-hit shutout relief for the RedStorm.
     Terrance Yates, the second of eight Ohio Christian pitchers, suffered the loss.
     Stephen Larkins led the Trailblazers on offense, going 4-for-5 with two triples, a double, three runs scored and three RBI.
     Spencer Crane added two hits, including a double, and two RBI, while Rio Grande transfer Carter Smith contributed two hits of his own in a losing cause.
     The two teams are scheduled to wrap up their weekend series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at noon.