RedStorm rallies past Wilberforce

Rio Grande Sports Information
     XENIA, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande pushed across an unearned run in the top of the sixth inning to rally for a 9-8 win over Wilberforce, Tuesday afternoon, in game one of what was to be a doubleheader at Athletes In Action's Browne Family Complex.
     The RedStorm enjoyed a 9-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning of the nightcap, which was suspended once the teams lost use of the facility.
     The suspended game will be completed prior to the doubleheader scheduled between the two schools on March 9 at Bob Evans Field.
     Rio's go-ahead run came when junior Joel Pagan (Humacao, P.R.) was hit by a pitch with one out and advanced to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch. He later scored on a throwing error.
     The Bulldogs loaded the bases but failed to score in the home sixth and went down in order in the seventh.
     Rio Grande took a 3-0 first inning lead, thanks in part to run-scoring hits by senior Keniel Rosado (Juncos, P.R.) and sophomore Gregory Catano (Santo Domingo, D.R.), but Wilberforce got two of the runs back in the bottom of the frame on solo home runs by Christopher Alcantara-Diaz and Junior Veras Vasquez.
     The Bulldogs tied the game in the second and, after the RedStorm regained a 4-3 advantage in the third, took a 7-4 lead with four runs in the bottom of the inning.
     A two-run home run by Joe Mendy and a solo circuit clout by Daunte Ward highlighted the comeback.
     Rio Grande then took the lead back in the see-saw affair with two runs in the fourth inning and two more markers in the fifth. Sophomore Gehrig Cordial (South Charleston, OH) hit a two-run home run in the fourth, while sophomore Christian Morales (Deltona, FL) and Cordial had RBI hits in the fifth.
     A run-scoring hit by Thomas Hampton in the bottom of the fifth tied the game again at 8-8 and set the stage for Rio's late go-ahead rally.
     Pagan, Catano, freshman KB Perkins (Chillicothe, OH), Morales and Cordial all had two hits each in the win. Pagan, Rosado and Perkins all had doubles.
     Redshirt freshman Henry Valerio (Hilliard, OH) earned the win in relief, allowing three hits and a run over 2-1/3 innings.
     Redshirt freshman Logan Martin (Wellston, OH) allowed a hit and two walks over two scoreless innings to earn a save.
     Kevin Hopkin took the loss for Wilberforce, allowing a hit and the unearned run over two innings of relief.
     Veras Vasquez finished 3-for-5 for the Bulldogs, while Darius Woodson, Alcantara-Diaz and Mendy all had two hits each.
     Weather permitting, Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Friday when it hosts Defiance College in the opening games of a weekend series.