Rio Grande Sports Information
RIO GRANDE, Ohio - Caleb Asjes connected on a one-out, run-scoring single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the University of Rio Grande a 6-5 game two win and a doubleheader sweep of Defiance College, Saturday afternoon, in non-conference baseball action at Bob Evans Field.
The RedStorm won the opening game, 5-3, and swept the four-game weekend series from the Yellow Jackets.
Rio Grande finished the weekend at 9-4 and sporting a five-game winning streak.
Defiance headed back north at 2-10.
The Yellow Jackets twice led by three runs in the nightcap - 3-0 in the second inning and 5-2 in the third - but the RedStorm rallied with a single run in the home third, two fifth inning markers and the game-winner in the seventh.
The victorious rally began when senior Keniel Rosado (Juncos, P.R.) began the inning with a walk and stole second. Sophomore Gregory Catano (Santo Domingo, D.R.) was then hit by a pitch and, one out later, Asjes - a junior from Overland Park, Kansas - singled to left field to plate Rosado with the winning run.
Senior Josiah Devapalan (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) homered and Catano doubled for Rio Grande, while Catano, redshirt junior Brett Haskins (Ripley, WV) and junior Dalton Vance (Taylor, MI) all drove in one run each.
Redshirt freshman Henry Valerio (Hilliard, OH), the last of four Rio pitchers, earned his second win in three decisions after allowing a hit and a walk over two scoreless innings.
Andy Yoder, the last of three Defiance hurlers, took the loss. He allowed two hits and a run over 1-1/3 innings.
Dominic Jarjis went 2-for-3 with two RBI in a losing cause.
In the opener, Rio Grande pushed across a first inning run and maintained its narrow advantage until scoring four times in the fifth inning.
The Yellow Jackets scored all of their runs in the sixth inning to make things interesting, but got no closer.
Devapalan swung the big bat for the RedStorm, delivering a run-scoring hit in the first and a three-run home run in the four-run fifth.
Haskins, junior Joel Pagan (Humacao, P.R.) and freshman Jacob Kaiser (St. Marys, OH) joined Devapalan with two hits in the victory. Kaiser also drove in a run.
Redshirt junior Jacob Napier (Alexandria, KY) started and got the win for Rio. He allowed just one hit over five innings, but walked five.
Bradyn Shaw started and lost for Defiance, allowing seven hits and five runs over 4-2/3 innings.
Jarjis doubled and Dylan Barger drove in a run for the Yellow Jackets.
Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Friday when it opens the River States Conference portion of its schedule at home against rival Shawnee State University.
First pitch for the series opener is slated for 2 p.m.
