April 8, 2008

Pioneers Pick Up Pair Of Wins Against Rio Grande On Monday, Split Twinbill With Walsh on Tuesday

 
The Malone College baseball team opened up a busy week on Monday and Tuesday by winning three of four American Mideast Conference home games at Thurman Munson Stadium.  The Pioneers swept their make-up doubleheader with the University of Rio Grande on Monday, taking the opener 13-2 and the nightcap 4-2.  The squad then faced off with local rival Walsh University on Tuesday afternoon and came away with a split, falling 7-4 in game one before bouncing back to win game two by a final score of 8-5.  Following Monday and Tuesday’s action, Malone’s overall record now stands at 20-8 with a 9-3 mark in the AMC.
 
The Pioneers’ offense caught fire in Monday’s opener as the hosts ripped 15 hits and scored at least one run in every inning to pull away for a convincing 13-2, six-inning victory.  Senior right-handed pitcher Zach Winkhart (Canton Central Catholic H.S.) started on the mound and picked up his third win of the season (3-0) after limiting Rio to one run on three hits over five innings of work.  Winkhart, who struck out four while walking two, also helped his own cause at the plate by going 4-4 with two doubles and three runs batted in.  Senior centerfielder Troy Richeson (Minerva H.S.) notched a season-high five RBI from the lead-off spot with two doubles and a pair of singles.
 
After its bats did the damage in game one, Malone’s pitching took center stage in game two on Monday as sophomore left-handed starter Todd Liberatore (Tusc. Central Catholic H.S.) led Malone to a 4-2 win with a complete-game effort on the mound.  Liberatore gave up just two runs (one earned) on seven hits over seven innings pitched while striking out a career-high 10 Rio Grande batters.  The contest was knotted at 2-2 after six innings before the Pioneers took the lead in the top of the seventh on back-to-back two-out, RBI singles by Richeson and junior shortstop Scott McIlvain (Marlington H.S.).  Senior rightfielder John Stallings (Louisville H.S.) went 2-2 in the contest, swiped two bases and scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh.
 
The Pioneers entered the seventh inning of Tuesday’s opener against Walsh with a 4-3 advantage but the visiting Cavaliers then rallied for four runs in the top of the frame to tally a come-from-behind 7-4 win.  Freshman right-handed pitcher Bryan Bayer (Fairless H.S.) took the loss (1-1) in relief after surrendering four runs (three earned) on five hits over 2.2 innings of work.  Malone posted seven hits in the game as junior first baseman Ryan Baechel (GlenOak H.S.) went 1-3 at the plate with a double and two runs scored.
 
In Tuesday’s finale, the Pioneers broke open a 3-3 game by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to take an 8-3 lead.  Walsh brought home two runs in the top of the seventh inning and then made things interesting by loading the bases with no one out.  The Cavalier threat was quickly extinguished, though, as freshman lefty Jeff Shenker (Twinsburg H.S.) then entered the game and preserved the 8-5 victory by inducing a fly out and a double play ground ball for his first career save.  Junior right-hander Adam Boudler (Louisville H.S.) picked up his team-leading fifth win (5-2) of the season after working 1.2 innings of relief.  Stallings plated a pair of runs in the fifth inning with a two-out single and Baechel extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a pair of singles.
 
Malone next travels to Cleveland State University on Wednesday for a single, nine-inning contest at 5:00 p.m. 
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