Rio Grande Sports Information
CLEVELAND, Ga. - The University of Rio Grande got its 2025 baseball season off on the right foot Saturday afternoon, sweeping a non-conference doubleheader at Truett McConnell University.
The RedStorm outslugged the Bulldogs in game one, 14-12, before posting a 13-2 triumph in the nightcap.
The wins gave Rio Grande its first 2-0 start since 2018, when the RedStorm began the season with four straight victories.
Game one was tied at 4-4 after three innings before the RedStorm took control with single markers in the fourth and fifth frames and a six-run sixth inning for a 12-4 advantage.
Rio took a 14-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, but TMU scored five times in the home half of the inning to make things interested.
The Bears had the tying runs on base and the would-be winning run at the plate when Rio junior reliever Schon Pespisa (El Monte, CA) - the last of six RedStorm pitchers - induced Dylan Sargent to bounce into a game-ending double-play.
Senior Likeiry Jimenez (Reading, PA) led the winning effort, going 4-for-5 with a home run and four runs batted in.
Junior Josiah Devapalan (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) went 5-for-6 in his RedStorm debut with two RBI, while senior Beiker Fuentes (Crystal Lake, IL) and freshman Gregory Catano (Santo Domingo, D.R.) both had three hits and drove in a run.
Redshirt sophomore Brett Haskins (Evans, WV) had three hits as well in the win, while freshman Riley Wooldridge (Cincinnati, OH) was 2-for-5 with a run batted in.
Fuentes, Catano and Haskins all had a double.
Pespisa picked up a save, while the win went to redshirt sophomore Derek Eblin (Waverly, OH), despite allowing four hits and three runs over 2-2/3 innings of relief.
Austin Gurley started and took the loss for Truett McConnell, allowing seven hits and five runs over four innings.
Brodie Genter homered, doubled and drove in three runs for the Bears, while Caleb Williams was 2-for-6 with a double and four RBI.
Caleb Adair had two hits, including a double, and two RBI, while Matthew Redmond had a pair of doubles and a run batted in and Jacob Karvelas went 3-for-5.
Jake Edwards also had two hits and an RBI in a losing cause.
The nightcap didn't provide nearly as much drama, with Rio Grande scoring three times in the first inning and six times in the third.
The RedStorm's final four runs came in the seventh and final inning.
Fuentes went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and six runs batted in, while Jimenez had three hits, including a double, and a run batted in.
Catano doubled and drove in two runs, while Devapalan also knocked in a pair of runs.
Redshirt sophomore Jacob Napier (Alexandria, KY) started and got the win, tossing five no-hit innings before being removed due to pitch count. He walked five and fanned four.
Cooper Reid started and lost for Truett McConnell after surrendering eight hits, four walks and nine runs over 2-2/3 innings.
Edwards doubled and drove in two runs for the Bears.
Rio Grande will conclude the three-game series on Sunday with a nine-inning affair scheduled for a 3 p.m. first pitch.
