Rio Grande, Point Park split KIAC Baseball Games of the Week in wild fashion
PITTSBURGH -- The University of Rio Grande and Point Park University split four games in the KIAC Baseball Games of the Week this past weekend, and it unfolded in wild fashion.
The RedStorm won handily with lots of offense and great pitching performances in games one and three, 9-2 and 12-1. Point Park rebounded each time to win games two and four in their final at bats by scores of 5-4 and 7-6.
With each team winning two games of the four-game series, Point Park (20-19, 13-7 KIAC) remained in third place in the KIAC standings and 1.0 game ahead of fourth-place Rio Grande (26-19, 12-8 KIAC). Both teams have eight KIAC games remaining.
Rio Grande won the series opener, 9-2, with Trent Downs providing the great pitching, and the Rio bats providing the great offense with 17 total hits.
The RedStorm scored five runs on seven hits in the first inning with Juddah Wolleburg providing a two-run single and Ty Warnimont delivering a base hit to drive in another run and cap off the inning. Another big hit was from Kirk Yates, a two-run homer in the fifth that gave Rio Grande a 7-0 lead and sent it well on its way.
Downs did his part on the mound with the complete game that limited Point Park to two runs on seven hits.
Game two of the series had Point Park win 5-4 on a sacrifice fly by Andy Chacon that scored Demetrius Moorer in the bottom of the seventh. The Pioneers had loaded the bases with one out to lead to the victory.
Point Park got out to a 4-1 lead with Moorer's two-run homer in the third. Rio Grande tied things up at 4-4 with three runs on some clutch hits in the fifth.
Point Park's Jarrad Brown earned the victory in 2.2 innings of scoreless relief as it became a battle of the bullpens with he and Rio Grande's Zach Russell. The Pioneers eventually pushed one across in the last of the seventh.
Zach Harvey of Rio Grande and Nolan Krivijanski of Point Park were the starting pitchers, and both had promising outings going before getting into trouble and turning it over to the relievers.
Rio Grande broke open game three of the series with seven runs in the fourth inning on its way to the 12-1 victory. Three swings of the bat took it from a 2-1 game to an 8-1 game.
After a bases-loaded hit by pitch to Luis Jimenez broke up the 1-1 tie, the next three batters had Daryin Lewis knock a two-run single, Kirk Yates bang an RBI double off the wall and Lance Montano blast a three-run homer to left field.
Point Park rebounded once again to win the nightcap in what was a back-and-forth game. Rio Grande got to a 5-2 lead its first three times at bat. Carlos Flores provided the big blow with a two-run homer in the third.
But Point Park tied things up at 5-5 with some clutching hits from Moorer and Chris Hernandez in the fourth inning.
Rio Grande inched ahead, 6-5, when Wollenburg's sacrifice fly scored pinch runner Kameron Herring in the top of the sixth.
The Pioneers had another comeback in them and knotted things up once again when Hernandez delivered an RBI single to score Moorer in the bottom of the sixth.
Brown, who was once again on in relief for Point Park, finished off his 4.1 innings of work when he stranded a potential go-ahead run at second base in the top of the seventh. He later got the victory and pitched a total of 7.0 innings without giving up a run in the series.
Point Park got the win in bizarre fashion. Logan Linder reached on a one-out single and was still at first when Filimon Perez grounded to third. Rio Grande third baseman Lewis looked to get the lead runner but his throw went wild into right field. Yates' follow-up throw trying to get Linder at third went out of play, and Linder was awarded home for the victory.