Rio Grande Sports Information
RIO GRANDE, Ohio - Given the ease with which the University of Rio Grande took care of Brescia University in the first game of their Best-of-3 River States Conference Baseball Championship Opening Round series on Friday, you would've thought the RedStorm finishing off the Bearcats would've been a mere formality.
Turns out that nothing could be further from the truth.
With its season hanging in the balance, Brescia rallied late to post a 10-9 win and force a deciding game, while Rio Grande rallied late in the winner-take-all affair for a 12-9 victory to cap a long day of action, Saturday afternoon, at Bob Evans Field.
The RedStorm, the No. 4 seed out of the RSC East Division, moved to 20-29 as a result of the split and advances to the tourney's final site for double-elimination play.
Head coach Brad Warnimont's club will be the No. 7 seed in the eight-team bracket and will face second-seeded Indiana University Southeast on Thursday, at 12:30 p.m., at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.
Brescia, the West Division No. 5 seed in the Opening Round, closed its season at 13-34 with the game two loss.
Game two started well for the Bearcats with a grand slam home run by Bryce Gamble highlighting a five-run first inning.
Rio Grande sliced into the deficit in the third inning on a three-run home run by senior Angel Cruz (Santo Domingo, D.R.), but a two-run double by Kendall Kortz in the top of the fourth pushed Brescia's lead to 7-3.
The RedStorm gained the lead in the bottom of the frame, though, with five runs of their own. Seniors Darius Jordan (Minford, OH) and Luke Lindamood (Minford, OH) had run-scoring doubles, while junior Waskar Martinez (Santiago, D.R.) and Cruz had RBI singles.
The Bearcats rallied to knot the score at 8-all on a run-scoring groundout by Gavin Reames, setting up Rio's go-ahead rally and the game's dramatic finish.
The RedStorm scored four times in the home eighth thanks to two-run singles by junior Beiker Fuentes (Crystal Lake, IL) and freshman Samuel Colina (Maracaibo, Venezuela), but the visitors tried to mount a ninth inning rally for the second time on the day.
Kortz struck out to begin the frame, but Hugo Benoit hammered a solo home run to right-center to make it 12-9.
Cole Troutman followed with a strikeout before Joshua Cossitt and Demarco Miller followed with consecutive walks to bring the would-be tying run to the plate.
The rally - and the game - ended moments later, though, when Gavin Huebner bounced into a game-ending fielder's choice grounder to shortstop.
Fuentes, the last of four Rio pitchers, earned his third win in four decisions after allowing a hit and a run over two innings. He walked three and struck out two.
Cason Troutman, the fourth of five Brescia pitchers, suffered the loss. He allowed three hits and three runs, while walking two, over 1-2/3 innings.
Cruz led Rio at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a homer, a double and four RBI. Colina had two hits, including a double, and two RBI, while Jordan was 2-for-4 with a double and a run batted in.
Lindamood and junior Alex Scoular (Whitby, Ontario, Canada) also doubled in the win.
Benoit had three hits and Kortz doubled twice and drove in two runs for Brescia, while Miller and Huebner also had a double each.
The first game of the day proved to be a see-saw affair.
Rio scored twice in the fourth on a triple by Cruz and an RBI single by junior Likeiry Jimenez (Reading, PA) to snap a scoreless tie, but Brescia scored four times in the top of the fifth to take a 4-2 advantage.
The RedStorm countered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth - highlighted by a two-run single by Jimenez - to regain a 5-4 lead, but the Bearcats tallied five runs to regain a 9-5 cushion.
Not to be outdone, Rio tied the game with four runs in the sixth - thanks in part to a run-scoring hit by sophomore Darwin Oleaga (Boston, MA) and an RBI fielder's choice grounder by Fuentes - and set the stage for one last rally by the Bearcats.
Gamble, Brescia's leading home run hitter for the season, deposited his eighth circuit-clout over the fence in left-center with one out in the top of the ninth for a 10-9 lead.
Rio put the would-be tying run on bases with one out in the bottom of the inning thanks to an infield hit by Jimenez, but each of the next two batters were retired routinely to end the game and force the deciding contest.
Miller went 3-for-5 with a double and a run batted in for Brescia, while Mikey Clements homered, doubled and drove in four runs.
Huebner had two hits and two RBI, Gamble finished 2-for-5 and Tommy Clark had two hits - including a double - in the win for the Bearcats.
Schon Pespisa, the last of three Bearcat hurlers, earned his first win in five decisions with three innings of one-hit, scoreless relief.
Sophomore Hayden Simon (Stouffville, Ontario, Canada), the last of three Rio pitchers, took the loss. He allowed four hits and three runs over 3-1/3 innings.
Jimenez finished 3-for-5 with three RBI, while Jordan had two hits and Lindamood added a double for the RedStorm.
