Rio Grande Sports Information
RIO GRANDE, Ohio - If they'd been allowed to write a script for how the final two home games of the season would turn out, it's unlikely that the University of Rio Grande baseball team would've come up with some better than how things actually played out.
Senior Clayton Surrell's two-out infield single in the bottom of the seventh inning capped a two-run rally in the RedStorm's final at bat and produced a 3-2 game two win over West Virginia University-Tech, Sunday afternoon, in River States Conference action at chilly Bob Evans Field.
The victory, coupled with an 8-3 triumph in the opening game of the doubleheader, gave Rio a sweep of the twin bill and a sweep of the three-game series.
Rio Grande, which extended its winning streak to four straight outings, improved to 24-23 overall and 14-10 in RSC play as a result of the sweep.
WVU-Tech dropped to 17-28 overall and 9-15 in league play, while seeing its losing streak to reach seven straight.
The Golden Bears looked as if they were going to snap their slide, rallying from an early deficit by scoring twice in the top of the sixth inning for a 2-1 lead.
Tech carried the same advantage into the home half of the seventh, when Rio mounted its dramatic finish.
Junior Daniel Rutherford (Coal Grove, OH) opened the inning with a single to right, but was forced out at second on graduate senior Andrew Daria's (Villa Hills, KY) fielder's choice grounder to the mound.
But junior Trey Carter (Wheelersburg, OH) drew a walk and a subsequent wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position before sophomore Braeden Gaul (Huntington, WV) was intentionally walked to load the bases.
One out later, senior John Arcaro (Trinity, FL) drew a bases-loaded walk to force home Daria with the tying run and bring Surrell to the plate.
Surrell, a native of Carroll, Ohio, hit a high chopper off the plate on the first pitch he saw from Tech's Jonathon Toro Mesa but, by the time first baseman Noah Lukas fielded the ball, he was unable to make a play and the RedStorm had its win.
Surrell finished 2-for-4 with a double, while Gaul drove in the run that gave Rio its early lead.
Junior Lane Mettler (Bainbridge, OH), who helped quell a rally by the Golden Bears by recording the final out of the seventh inning, earned the win.
Toro Mesa was the hard-luck loser for Tech, allowing six hits, three walks and all three runs in a complete game effort.
Francisco Calderon went 2-for-3 in the loss for the Golden Bears, while Logan Stump and Tyler Wilkinson had one RBI each.
In the opener, Rio Grande never trailed, but used a five-run seventh inning uprising to pull away for good.
Junior AJ Thomas (Pickerington, OH) fueled the RedStorm's offensive attack by going 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBI. The second of his circuit clouts, a sixth inning solo shot, was his 16th homer of the season and set a new single-season school record, surpassing the previous high of 15 set by David Robinson in 1995.
Rutherford had two hits and two runs batted in, while Surrell went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Daria and sophomore Angel De La Cruz (Santo Domingo, D.R.) both doubled and drove in a run, while Gaul also had a double.
Freshman right-hander Daewin Spence (Portsmouth, OH) got the win with his best performance of the season, allowing five hits, three walks and a run over 7-1/3 innings.
Chase Herndon started and lost for WVU-Tech, allowing five hits and three runs over five innings.
Broedy Boyce had two hits, including a solo home run, for the Golden Bears, while Logan Spurlock and Ryan Miller also had two hits each in a losing cause. Sprulock and Xavier Martin both doubled.
Rio Grande will close out its regular season schedule next weekend at Indiana University Kokomo.
The teams are scheduled to play a single game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday.
