Bearcats top Rio in series opener

Rio Grande Sports Information
     OWENSBORO, Ky. - Brescia University scored twice in each of the first two innings and made its early lead stand up for a 5-4 win over the University of Rio Grande, Friday afternoon, in River States Conference baseball action at Kamuf Park.
     The Bearcats moved to 12-10 overall and 6-4 in the RSC.
     The RedStorm dropped to 13-13 overall and 1-9 in league play with the loss.
     Rio Grande trailed 2-0 after one inning, 4-0 after two frames and 5-1 heading to the fourth inning.
     The RedStorm scored single markers in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings to pull within a run, but failed to get any closer.
     Head coach Brad Warnimont's club put runners at second and third with one out in the eighth inning, but failed to score the tying and/or go-ahead runs.
     Rio was retired in order in the ninth.
     Redshirt junior Brett Haskins (Ripley, WV) had two hits and drove in a run for the RedStorm, while senior Josiah Devapalan (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) and sophomore Riley Wooldridge (Cincinnati, OH) also had two hits each. Wooldridge had a double and freshman KB Perkins (Chillicothe, OH) added a double of his own along with a run batted in.
     Redshirt junior Jacob Napier (Alexandria, KY) started and took the loss for Rio, allowing nine hits and five runs - three earned - over 7-1/3 innings.
     Matthew Escalera got the win in relief for Brescia despite allowing three hits and two runs over 2-1/3 innings.
     Chase Christie and Grant Huebner had two hits each in the win for the Bearcats.
     The two teams will conclude their weekend series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. EDT.