RedStorm bounces Bluefield, extends win streak

Rio Grande Sports Information
     RIO GRANDE, Ohio - Gehrig Cordial hit a two-run home run and Jacob Kaiser finished 2-for-4 with three runs batted in to lead the University of Rio Grande in a 7-4 win over Bluefield (Va.) University, Tuesday afternoon, in non-conference baseball action at Bob Evans Field.
     The RedStorm won for a seventh consecutive time, pushing their overall record to 23-16.
     The Rams dropped to 9-24 with the loss.
     Cordial, a sophomore from South Charleston, Ohio, hit his fourth home run of the season to give Rio Grande a 2-0 second inning lead.
     Kaiser, a freshman from St. Marys, Ohio, had a run-scoring single in the fourth inning to restore the RedStorm's two-run cushion at 3-1 and then added a two-run single as part of a four-run fifth inning uprising which pushed the advantage to 7-1.
     Bluefield made things a bit more interesting in the seventh inning when a two-run single by Michael Royston and a run-scoring hit by Nick Stergiou made it 7-4, but the rally ended there and Cordial negotiated the final six outs over innings eight and nine to put the wraps on the victory.
     Freshman William Miller (Washington Court House, OH), the first of nine Rio pitchers on a scheduled bullpen day by head coach Brad Warinmont, was credited with the victory after tossing a perfect first inning.
     Cordial's save was his first of the season.
     Sophomore Gregory Catano (Santo Domingo, D.R.) added two hits and a run batted in for the RedStorm.
     Stergiou was 2-for-4 and Dylan Dotson had a double in the loss for Bluefield.
     Noah Burtner, the first of six hurlers for the Rams, suffered the loss. He allowed two hits and two runs while walking two over two innings.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Friday when it opens the final home series of the season against Midway University.
     First pitch is set for 2 p.m.