CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The Campbellsville Tigers baseball team hosted Rio Grande for a pair of games against the RedStorm. The Tigers defeated Rio Grande in both games Tuesday afternoon to capture their first home double-header sweep of the season.
Game One: Campbellsville 11, Rio Grande 1
To begin the ball game, Josiah Clark reached base via walk and stole second and third base on wild pitches. Noah Amenta also reached base via walk. Unfortunately, the Tigers could not capitalize with runners on and both were left on base. A triple put a runner in scoring position for Rio Grande to begin the top half of the second inning. Amenta and Eddy Arteaga kept the runner from scoring and made the out at home plate and allowed the batter to reach first base on a fielder's choice.
Luis Lopez came in to relieve Ryan McFarland on the mound in the third inning. Arteaga hit a line drive to third base to land himself a single. Kevin Whitaker came in to pinch run for Arteaga. Whitaker advanced to second base on a passed ball. Later in the inning with the bases loaded and one out, Cameron Castaneda was walked and Verble scored another run for the Tigers. Jacob White also reached base off a walk and Lebron scored. Sam Fagerness was hit by a pitch to land himself on first base and score Amenta. After tagging up on a caught foul ball, Cameron Castaneda scored and White advanced to third base. The Tigers took a five-run lead over Rio Grande to go into the fourth inning.
Tigers put away all three Rio Grande batters to get through the top of the fifth inning. Amenta singled through the left side to start the bottom half of the inning. Cameron Castaneda sent a pitch to center field to land himself on first base and move Amenta to second. Lorenzo Gonzalez came in to pinch run for Amenta and White singled to left field which advanced Cameron Castaneda and Lorenzo Gonzalez into scoring position. Whitaker came in to pinch hit and sent a hit to left field to score Cameron Castaneda and Lorenzo Gonzalez. White was then advanced to second base. Jorge Gonzalez doubled to left field and scored White. The runs kept coming as Whitaker advanced to third base and Arteaga sent a pitch all the way to the center field fence to give him a triple and scored Whitaker and Jorge Gonzalez. Samio Uze came in to pinch hit and scored Arteaga with a sacrifice groundout. The Tigers took an 11-run lead over Rio Grande to go into the sixth inning. Despite scoring their first run in the sixth, the Tigers defeated Rio Grande, 11-1.
The Tigers had eight total hits with Arteaga and Amenta having two each. McFarland, Lopez, and Welch threw a combined total of 109 pitches with a strike percentage of .560.
Game Two: Campbellsville 6, Rio Grande 4
To start the first inning, Amenta reached first base on an infield error. Lebron reached base on a fielder's choice and was left stranded on base. Rio Grande scored the first run of the ball game after a pitch was sent to center field with a runner on base to begin the second inning. During the bottom half of the inning, Grant McQueary landed a double on a pitch sent to right field. White laid down a beautiful bunt to put himself on first base and advance McQueary to third base. White stole second base and left the Tigers with two runners in scoring position. Jorge Gonzalez sent a pitch in between the shortstop and third basemen to put himself on first base and sent McQueary and White across the plate. Tyler Belcher sent a pitch over the left field fence for a two-run home run. The Tigers took a three-run lead over Rio Grande to go into the third inning.
Rio Grande loaded the bases with just one out and Zack Bromstead struck out the next two batters to end the top half of the third inning. Lebron singled to center field to start off the bottom half of the inning. Arteaga reached first base off an infield error and advanced Lebron to second base. Coordinating perfectly, Lebron stole third base and Arteaga stole second base. Lebron made his way across the plate on a passed ball and Arteaga moved up to third base. Jorge Gonzalez doubled to left field and scored Arteaga.
During the fourth inning, Belcher and Bromstead kept Rio Grande from adding another run to the scoreboard and caught a runner out at home plate. Unfortunately, another runner found their way around the bases to give Rio Grande a run. It was then that Mason Lee came in to relieve Bromstead on the mound. In the sixth inning, Joseph Randford came to the mound for the Tigers. With one out though, Chad McCann took over on the mound. Rio Grande added two more runs to the scoreboard and cut the Tigers' lead to just two runs. The Tigers would hold on though and defeat Rio Grande, 6-4.
The Tigers had six hits with two belonging to Jorge Gonzalez. The Tigers had four different pitches with a combined total of 140 pitches and a .650 strike percentage.
The Tigers are scheduled to play at Cumberland University in a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday in Lebanon, Tennessee. The games for Saturday afternoon are set to begin at 1 p.m. ET and 3:30 p.m. ET.
