Rio Grande Sports Information
INSTITUTE, W.Va. - Likeiry Jimenez, Angel Cruz and Alex Scoular had three hits each, while Waskar Martinez homered and doubled to lead the University of Rio Grande baseball team to a 14-8 win over Indiana University Purdue University Columbus, Friday night, in non-conference baseball action at the Shawnee Sports Complex.
Earlier in the day, the RedStorm dropped a 15-12, 11-inning decision to Indiana University South Bend.
The split left the RedStorm with a 5-12 record at the end of the day.
Rio Grande rallied from a pair of early deficits in its win after spotting the Crimson Pride a 3-0 first inning lead and a 4-3 second inning advantage.
The RedStorm blew things open by scoring four times in the fourth and five times in the fifth.
Jimenez, a junior from Reading, Pa., was 3-for-4 with a double and four runs batted in, while Cruz - a senior from Santo Domingo, D.R. - was also 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Scoular, a junior from Whitby, Ontario, Canada had three singles and scored twice.
Martinez, a junior from Santiago, D.R., scored three times and drove in a run, while senior Luke Lindamood (Minford, OH) went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI, junior Beiker Fuentes (Crystal Lake, IL) had two hits and drove in a run and graduate senior AJ Thomas (Pickerington, OH) added a double and an RBI.
Sophomore Daewin Spence (Portsmouth, OH) allowed nine hits and eight runs - five earned - over six innings, but got the win. He walked five and struck out three.
Cam Richey started and lost for the Crimson Pride, surrendering seven hits and eight runs over 3-1/3 innings.
Lucas Slager was 2-for-4 with two RBI in the loss for IUPUC, while Jared Ross was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run batted in and Wyatt Sutton was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Cyrus Robinson also had two hits for the Crimson Pride.
Rio's win came on the heels of a gut-wrenching loss to IU South Bend earlier in the day.
The RedStorm erased a 7-1 fourth inning deficit by scoring eight times in the fifth and carried a 10-7 advantage into the eighth inning.
IUSB scored once to get within 10-8, but Rio scratched across a pair of markers in the bottom of the inning to take a seemingly safe four-run lead into the ninth inning.
The Titans rallied to tie the game, though, thanks to a three-run home run by Braedon Leathed and a solo home run by Logan Smith.
Leathed then connected on a two-run bomb in the 11th to snap the 12-all tie and Smith added an insurance run by scoring on a pair of throwing errors after a steal of second base.
Smith finished 6-for-6 with two home runs, a double, three stolen bases and five runs batted in, while Leathed was 3-for-6 with three runs scored and five RBI.
Quinn Meier added four hits of his own, including a double, to IUSB's 20-hit attack, while Kaleb Farnham was 2-for-6 with a double and a run batted in and Anthony Pohil doubled and finished with two RBI.
Gabe Cortez, the last of six pitchers for the Titans, got the win after tossing 3-1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Fuentes, the last of four Rio pitchers, suffered the loss. He allowed five hits and four runs - three earned - over 2-2/3 innings.
Thomas led the RedStorm offensively by going 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Fuentes also had three hits and two RBI.
Sophomore Josh Whent (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada) was 2-for-5 with two RBI, Lindamood was 2-for-4 with a double and a run batted in, junior Alex Scoular (Whitby, Ontario, Canada) had a pair of doubles and junior Braeden Gaul (Huntington, WV) drove in two runs.
Rio Grande will play the same two teams again on Saturday, facing IUSB at 11 a.m. in a nine-inning game and meeting IUPUC in a seven-inning contest at 5 p.m.
