Rio Grande Sports Information
RIO GRANDE, Ohio - Carlos Mateo had three hits, including a three-run home run to highlight an eight-run fifth inning, and drove in five runs to lead the University of Rio Grande to a 14-1 game two win over Alice Lloyd College, Tuesday afternoon, in non-conference baseball action at Bob Evans Field.
The victory snapped a six-game losing slide for the RedStorm, who finished the day at 14-20 with the split.
Alice Lloyd, which rallied late to win the opening contest, 5-4, headed home at 16-12 as a result of the split.
Mateo's home run - the first of his collegiate career - and a two-run double by senior Beiker Fuentes (Crystal Lake, IL) were the big blows in Rio's late game two explosion, turning a relatively tight contest into a laugher.
The RedStorm had just three hits in the big inning, but parlayed two walks, a hit batsmen and three ALC errors into eight unearned runs.
Alice Lloyd grabbed a 1-0 first inning lead, but Rio scored twice in the second on a home run by senior Likeiry Jimenez (Reading, PA) and an infield single by freshman Gehrig Cordial (South Charleston, OH) to take the lead for good.
Redshirt sophomore Brett Haskins (Evans, WV) extended the lead to 4-1 with a two-run single in the fourth, setting the stage for eight-run fifth.
Freshman Riley Wooldridge (Cincinnati, OH), Cordial and junior Josiah Devapalan (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) also had a run batted in each in the big inning.
Mateo - a freshman from Miami, Fla. - tacked on a two-run single in the sixth inning to set the final score.
Fuentes, Jimenez and Cordial all had two hits each in the win, while Devapalan and sophomore Chase Christian (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) both doubled.
Senior Justin Anaya (Brownsville, TX) started and got the win for Rio Grande, allowing five hits and a runs over four solid innings.
Karsten Dixon started and lost for Alice Lloyd, surrendering eight hits and four runs over 3-1/3 innings.
Zach Morris had a pair of doubles and Kyle Johnson had two hits of his own in the loss for the Eagles.
In the opener, Rio Grande erased a first inning deficit with four second inning runs, but the visitors scored three times in the fourth to tie and once in the sixth for what proved to be the game-winning marker.
Cory Jefferson finished 4-for-4 with a run batted in for Alice Lloyd, while Diego Rodriguez had three hits of his own and Colton Lovelace delivered a game-tying, two-run pinch-hit single in the three-run fourth.
Gage Hensley went the distance on the mound to get the win for the Eagles, allowing six hits and four runs - only one of which was earned - over seven innings. He walked just two and fanned six.
Junior Julian "JD" Jones (Houston, TX), the third of four Rio pitchers, took the loss, allowing a hit and an unearned run in 1-2/3 innings of work.
Jimenez finished 2-for-3 with a home run, while Fuentes was 2-for-3 with a double and a run batted in and Cordial added a triple and an RBI in the loss.
Weather permitting, Rio Grande is slated to host Brescia University in River States Conference play this weekend.
The games were originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday, but have now been moved to Sunday and Monday.
Sunday's game will be played at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio with a 7 p.m. first pitch, while Monday's games are tentatively scheduled for noon at Bob Evans Field.
