Rio bests Grenadiers in baseball championship
By RANDY PAYTON
Rio Grande Sports Information
KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Kevin Arroyo had three hits and drove in two runs, while Luiz Jimenez had a two-run double as part of a five-run sixth inning rally as the University of Rio Grande defeated Indiana University-Southeast, 6-1, in the championship game of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, Saturday afternoon, at Hunter Wright Stadium.
The RedStorm, who won for the 12th straight time, improved to 32-20 with the victory and earned the KIAC's automatic bid to the upcoming NAIA National Tournament.
Head coach Brad Warnimont's squad, which will be making just the second national tourney appearance in school history, will learn the regional site and the identity of its tourney opponents on Friday.
IU-Southeast, which was playing its sixth game of the double-elimination tournament finished 37-18 with the loss - its second in the tourney at the hands of Rio Grande.
The Grenadiers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning against Rio senior starter Landon Hutchison thanks to consecutive one-out singles by Alex Dapkus, Josh Beams and KIAC Player of the Year Logan Coughlin, but the RedStorm tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Carlos Flores led off with a single and eventually scored on a two-out single by Arroyo.
Despite numerous scoring chances by both teams, Hutchison and IU-Southeast starter Greg Laughlin managed to keep the deadlock intact until Rio Grande came to bat in the home half of the sixth.
Chris Ford led off with a single and Malduino Gonzalez was hit by a pitch before Kyle Findley's sacrifice bunt attempt along the third base line was errored to load the bases. Carlos Flores was then hit by a pitch to force home the go-ahead run, prompting IU-Southeast head coach Ben Reel to lift Laughlin in favor of Shane Weedman.
Jimenez greeted the Grenadier reliever with a two-run double to right and, one out later, Arroyo and Kirk Yates had consecutive RBI singles to make it 6-1.
IU-Southeast threatened in the seventh when Beams and Coughlin led off with back-to-back walks, spelling the end of the day for Hutchison and a second straight relief appearance for Daryin Lewis.
A one-out single by Tyler Adams loaded the bases, but Lewis induced Grant Anderson into an inning-ending double-play.
The Grenadiers also threatened in both the eighth and ninth innings, but failed to cash in on each occasion.
Marcus Howard and Dapkus had back-to-back two-out singles in the eighth, but Beams flied to center to end the inning. Coughlin and Simpson opened the ninth with consecutive hits, but Simpson was forced out at second on a fielder's choice grounder to short by Adams and Lewis routinely retired each of the final two batters to close out the win.
Amazingly, IU-Southeast managed just one run on 16 hits and stranded 16 runners. Dapkus finished 4-for-5 and Anderson had three hits, while Coughlin and Jarret Young added two hits each in a losing cause.
Rio Grande had 12 hits and stranded 14 runners of its own in the win. Findley and Kirk Yates, like Arroyo had three hits, while Ford and Flores finished with two hits each.
Hutchison allowed 11 hits and two walks in six-plus innings, but surrendered just the one run en route to a sixth win in eight decisions.
Laughlin gave up 10 hits and five runs - all earned - over five-plus innings and was tagged for his second loss in five decisions.