Day 1 Recap: Midway, Point Park, IU Kokomo win at RSC Baseball Championship
Day 1 Recap: Midway, Point Park, IU Kokomo win at RSC Baseball Championship
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio -- Day 1 of the 2019 River States Conference Baseball Championship is in the books with the first three games played on Thursday from VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio. The tournament continues through Sunday at the home of the Chillicothe Paints.
No. 6 seed Midway (Ky.) University pulled an upset to start the day, a 7-3 win over No. 1 IU Southeast. Then No. 2 Point Park (Pa.) University topped No. 5 Asbury (Ky.) University, 10-5, before No. 3 IU Kokomo topped No. 4 University of Rio Grande (Ohio), 9-4, to close out the day.
Friday's action begins with No. 1 IU Southeast versus No. 5 Asbury in an elimination game at 11 a.m. No. 6 Midway and No. 4 Rio Grande square off at 3 p.m. followed by No. 2 Point Park versus No. 3 IU Kokomo at 7 p.m.
Follow the RSC Baseball Championship all weekend long with Live Video on the RSC Game Central and Live Stats on Dakstats.
NO. 6 MIDWAY 7, NO. 1 IU SOUTHEAST 4
Brandon Aoki threw 7.0 strong innings, and Graeham Luttor was 3 for 4 with two home runs and three RBIs to power No. 6 Midway over No. 1 IU Southeast, 7-3. The Eagles (26-25, 14-13 RSC) built a 6-1 lead, and No. 24-ranked IU Southeast (34-17, 21-6 RSC) got as close as 6-3 with single runs in the seventh and eighth.
Aoki did his part scattering eight hits over his seven innings. He gave up a run in the second inning and then not again until the seventh, his final inning. He struck out two, walked two and had an errorless defense behind him.
Luttor hit solo homers in the third and sixth inning. In between, he had an RBI double to help push the lead to 5-1 in the fourth. Noah Marion was 2 for 5 with an RBI double, and Kurt Paldino was 1 for 3 with an RBI double. Matthew Olson was 1 for 3 with three walks and two runs.
Derek Wagner hit two home runs for IU Southeast, which totaled 11 hits. Wagner had solo shots in the second and seventh innings for the only dents versus Aoki. Wagner and Dalton Mitchell were both 3 for 4 for the Grenadiers.
NO. 2 POINT PARK 10, NO. 5 ASBURY 5
Point Park pounded out 17 hits and pulled away from Asbury for a 10-5 victory. Asbury (24-21, 15-12 RSC) got out to a 3-0 lead, but Point Park (32-15, 19-8 RSC) scored 10 of the next 11 runs to take control.
Alejandro Pelaez smashed a two-run homer in the fourth inning for a key lead of 5-3 for Point Park. Asbury got within 5-4 and had its bullpen hold things there -- with the help of three double plays by the infield -- before Point Park widended the game with a big seventh inning.
The game was halted due to rain with one out in the bottom of the seventh. When things resumed, Point Park strung together five hits and four runs for a 9-4 lead. Ed Pfluger provided the key hit, a two-run single with two outs.
Hitting leaders for Point Park included Erik Montero and Luis Mujica both 4 for 5 with an RBI, Pelaez 3 for 5 with a homer, triple and three RBIs and Jake Forgrave 3 for 3 win an RBI. Ruben Ramirez got the win in 5.1 innings of relief. He came in with the score 3-3 in the fourth and two runners on. Ramirez gave up two runs and four hits the rest of the way.
Trevor Campbell and Paul Haupt led the Asbury offense from the top of the order. Campbell was 2 for 5 with a double, and Haupt was 3 for 4 with an RBI double. After Haupt's double scored Campbell for the opening run in the third, Colton Back squeezed home a run with a bunt. Another run came in on an error for a 3-0 lead.
NO. 3 IU KOKOMO 9, NO. 4 RIO GRANDE 4
No. 3 IU Kokomo had five of its 10 hits go for extra bases, and the Cougars' bullpen threw 4.2 scoreless innings of relief to top No. 4 Rio Grande, 9-4.
The Cougars (34-16, 19-8 RSC) got out to a 4-1 lead with the help of Jared Heard's two-run homer in the third inning. Although Rio Grande (34-19, 18-9 RSC) tied things up at 4-4 with two in the fourth and one more in the fifth, IU Kokomo's bullpen shut the door. The Cougars then added on in two more scoring innings to build the lead, using extra-base hits each time.
In the bottom of the fifth, Noah Etchison's triple set up Dalton Clark's sacrifice fly for the go-ahead run. Later, Tavon Lindsay delivered a two-run double. The lead was padded two 9-4 with Austin Weiler's triple in the eighth, which brought home two more.
Noah Richardson started for IU Kokomo, and although he gave up a homer to Dylan Shockley on the first pitch of the game, that was the only run until later in his outing.
Tyler Lunger came on in the fifth, and although the RedStorm tied it up on a run charged to Richardson, Lunger (3.2 innings) and Clarke Davenport (1.0 inning) provided the scoreless effort for the bullpen. Lunger got the win with no runs or hits, six strikeouts and one walk. Davenport struck out two in a scoreless ninth.
Zack Harvey went 5.0 innings as the Rio Grande starter. He gave up seven hits and seven runs. Shockley was 2 for 3, and five other RedStorm players had a single hit apiece.