Rio Grande Sports Information
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The University of Rio Grande picked up a much-needed win with a game one beatdown of its River States Conference baseball twin bill against Brescia University.
Unfortunately, the Bearcats turned the back end of the doubleheader into a textbook example of role reversal.
Rio Grande banged out 16 hits en route to a 10-3 win in the opener, but watched Brescia blow open game two with 13 runs over its final four at bats for a 14-3 rout of the RedStorm, Monday afternoon, at Marshall University's Jack Cook Field.
The split left the RedStorm at 15-22 overall and 6-9 in league play, one game behind Brescia and Midway for what would be the final spot in the upcoming RSC Tournament.
Brescia headed home at 19-10 overall and 7-8 against conference foes.
In its game one triumph, Rio Grande scored once in the opening inning and three times in the third before the Bearcats made it a one-run affair with three runs in the seventh inning.
The RedStorm got one of the runs back in the home seventh, but iced the win with five insurance markers in the eighth.
Redshirt sophomore Brett Haskins (Evans, WV) had four hits, including a double, and two runs batted in to lead the winning effort, while senior Beiker Fuentes (Crystal Lake, IL) was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI of his own.
Freshman Riley Wooldridge (Cincinnati, OH) also had three hits, including a double, in the victory, while senior Likeiry Jimenez (Reading, PA) was 2-for-5 with three RBI, senior Waskar Martinez (Santiago, D.R.) finished 2-for-3 and drove in a run and freshman Gregory Catano (Miami, FL) contributed a double and an RBI.
Senior Gabe Carter (Huntington, WV) earned his second win in six decisions, allowing seven hits and the three runs over seven innings.
Redshirt junior Evan Lewis (Carrollton, OH)allowed one hit over the final two innings for his first save.
Dylan Warda started and lost for Brescia, allowing five hits and four runs in two-plus innings.
Miguel Marcos and Houston Flynn both had two hits and a run batted in for the Bearcats, while Bryce Gamble doubled and drove in a run and Andres Martinez had a double of his own.
Game two turned out to be a polar opposite for Rio Grande, though.
Brescia grabbed a 1-0 lead with a second inning run and carried the slim advantage into the fourth inning of the seven-inning contest, but the Bearcats blew things open with two runs in both the fourth and fifth frames, five runs in the sixth and four runs in the seventh.
The RedStorm avoided a shutout by scoring three times in the sixth.
Gamble was 3-for-3 with a home run, a double and four RBI for Brescia, while Chase Christie had three hits and drove in a run and Flynn was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs batted in.
Marcos, Artem Logvinov and Camden Dewitt all had two hits and an RBI in the win, while Griffin Taylor was 2-for-5 and Michael Ascencio added a double. One of Logvinov's hits was a triple.
Brian Gonzalez earned his fifth win in seven decisions for the Bearcats, allowing five hits and two runs with five strikeouts over 5-1/3 innings.
Redshirt sophomore Eduard Escolastico (Tenares, D.R.), the first of eight Rio pitchers, took the loss. He allowed seven hits and three runs - two earned - over three-plus innings.
Jimenez was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI for the RedStorm, while Catano was 2-for-3 with a triple and a run batted in. Fuentes also had a pair of hits in the loss.
Rio Grande was scheduled to be back on the diamond Tuesday afternoon with a non-conference home date against Bluefield (Va.) University, but the contest was scratched late Monday night due to persistent wet field conditions.
The RedStorm will next play at conference co-leader Indiana University Southeast in the opener of a three-game series on Friday at 5 p.m.
