RedStorm, Grenadiers to play for title

5/2/2015 12:00:00 AM

By RANDY PAYTON
Rio Grande Sports Information
KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Second-seeded University of Rio Grande and No. 3 seed Indiana University-Southeast will play for a championship after finishing as the final two teams standing following Friday's action in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament at Hunter Wright Stadium.
The RedStorm (31-20) punched their ticket to the title game by virtue of a 6-3 win over top-seeded - and No. 24-ranked - Point Park University in Friday's winner bracket final, while the Grenadiers (37-17) advanced by posting an 8-4 triumph over No. 6 seed Asbury and a 5-4 victory over Point Park in the loser's bracket final.

Saturday's championship final in the double-elimination tournament is set for 1 p.m. A second final, if necessary, would follow immediately thereafter at approximately 4 p.m.
The tournament champion will receive the league's automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
Here's a brief recap of Friday's action:

Rio Grande 6, Point Park 3--The RedStorm ran their winning streak to 11 consecutive games, rallying from a pair of deficits by scoring twice in each of their final three at bats.
The loss was the first-ever tournament setback for the Pioneers, who took three of four regular season meetings from Rio, since joining the KIAC.
The game was a scoreless duel between Rio Grande starter Trent Downs and Point Park starter Jason Kim - the KIAC Pitcher of the Year - until the Pioneers got run-scoring singles from Demetrius Moorer and Shane Conley in the fifth inning.
Rio Grande countered with a game-tying single by Daryin Lewis in the top of the seventh, but Point Park regained the lead on a two-out RBI single by Oscar Romero in the home half of the inning.
The RedStorm took the lead for good, though, with a pair of runs against Kim in the eighth.
Grant Tamane reached on a one-out walk and scored on Kevin Arroyo's second double of the game - a two-base hit which allowed the senior to set an all-time school record for doubles in a season. Arroyo scored the go-ahead marker moments later thanks to a throwing error as he advanced to third base on a groundout by Kirk Yates.
Rio Grande added a pair of insurance markers in the ninth off of reliever Jake Horew - the first earned runs allowed by the right-hander all season - on RBI singles by pinch-hitter Cody Blackburn and Tamane
Lewis earned the win in relief - his fourth win in five decisions - by tossing 2-1/3 scoreless innings.
Kim lost for just the second time in 10 decisions, allowing seven hits and four runs - three earned - over eight innings.
Tamane, Arroyo and Chris Ford all had two hits each in the win for Rio Grande, while Romero and Stefan Mrkonja had two hits apiece in the loss for Point Park.
IU-Southeast 8, Asbury 4--Logan Coughlin's seventh inning grand slam home run snapped a 4-4 tie and lifted the Grenadiers past the Eagles in an elimination game.
Asbury (11-36) turned a two-run deficit into a 4-3 by scoring three times in the top of the fifth inning. Dallas Murphy's two-run double highlighted the rally.
IU-Southeast tied the game in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Josh Beams and then went in front for good as a result of the pivotal seventh inning rally.
Nick Pope led off the inning with a single and his courtesy runner, Brad Walker, moved to second when Marcus Howard's sacrifice bunt attempt was errored. Alex Dapkus bunted both runners into scoring position and, after Beams was intentionally-walked to load the bases, Coughlin hit the first offering thrown by Asbury starter Brenden Wells over the fence in left for a grand slam home run.
Jarrod Messex, the last of three pitchers for the Grenadiers, allowed just one hit over 3-2/3 scoreless innings to earn his third win in four decisions.
Pope finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two runs batted in for IU-S, while Beams went 3-for-3 with an RBI after going 6-for-6 against Asbury in the Grenadiers' opening round win over the Eagles on Wednesday night.
Tyler Adams added a pair of hits, including a home run, to the winning effort, while Dapkus also went 2-for-4.
Murphy had three hits and Simeon Bell went 2-for-3 in a losing cause for Asbury.
IU-Southeast 5, Point Park 4--Alex Dapkus plated the go-ahead run with a ninth inning sacrifice fly and relief ace Evan Bickett recorded the final out for his league-leading 14th save as the Grenadiers ousted the top-seeded - and defending champion - Pioneers.
IU-Southeast grabbed a 1-0 first inning lead when Dapkus tripled to left and scored on a groundout by Josh Beams, but Point Park tied the game in the second when Chaz Russo reached on a one-out walk and eventually scored on a two-out error.
The Grenadiers went back in front in the fifth thanks to a one-out RBI single by Jarret Young, but the Pioneers answered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to take the lead.
Mrkonja singled with two outs and rode home on a double by Oscar Romero to tie the game at 2-2. Andy Chacon followed with a double to plate Romero with the go-ahead marker and an error on Russo's apparent inning-ending popup to second allowed Chacon to score and push the Pioneers' lead to 4-2.
IU-Southeast tied the game in the seventh after Marcus Howard was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and a subsequent throwing error later in the inning, but grabbed the lead for good in the ninth.
Young and Nick Pope drew consecutive one-out walks from PPU reliever Zach Zimmerman and Howard was hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting the stage for Dapkus' go-ahead sacrifice fly to left.
The Pioneers mounted a two-out threat against IU-S reliever Bryan Nacke in the bottom of the ninth when Edberg Dominguez was hit by a pitch and Mrkonja followed with a single to center to cap a 4-for-4 night at the plate. Nacke was then lifted in favor of Bickett, who induced Romero into a game-ending groundout to first.
Young and Tyler Adams had two hits apiece in the winning effort for IU-Southeast, while Nacke earned his fifth victory in six decisions by tossing 2-2/3 innings of scoreless relief after taking over for starter Clint Chestnut.
Zimmerman suffered his second loss in three decisions for Point Park, which dropped to 37-13 and must now await to see if it receives an at-large bid to the national tourney.

Live video of Saturday's tournament finals will be available at www.team1sports.com/redstorm.
Live statistics for tournament contests can be found at www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10.