Park University's baseball program traveled to Lamoni, Iowa on Saturday and Sunday for a series with Graceland University. The Yellowjackets came back for walk-off wins on day one, but the Pirates stole the show on day two for the split.
Park moves to 24-13 on the season with a 15-9 conference record, while the Yellowjackets are .500 on the season at 21-21 and 9-15 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
GAME 1 | L, 4-5 | Box Score
Raul Garcia pitched three scoreless innings to begin the series opener. Park was able to give him the lead in the third inning with a lead-off triple by
Edward Gonzalez, who later came in on a groundout by
Billy Rivera.
Later in the game was when it got interesting, as the Yellowjackets tied the game in the fourth inning on a solo home run. Then both teams would score two runs in the fifth to keep it tied, 3-3.
Yadiel Santana began the fifth with a lead-off base-hit and then was hit in by another single by
Gilberto Torres.
Victor Sanchez-Ramos brought in the third run on a groundout back to the pitcher.
With it tied, Santana came up clutch with an RBI single to bring in
Corey Bradford from second, who pinch ran for
Houston Penrod. Penrod kept the lead-off hits going with a double.
Once again, Graceland was able to counter with three, two-out singles and a wild pitch that allowed the tying run to score.
Bryce Perdieu was able to strikeout a Yellowjacket to end the inning, but Graceland would come back for a walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh on another wild pitch that setup a walk-off single, 5-4.
Santana led the Pirates with a two-for-four game at the plate.
GAME 2 | L, 4-5 | Box Score
The Pirates got to the lead in the top of the first, capitalizing on an error that allowed
Zayne Morrow to single to centerfield for the game's first run, 1-0.
The runs for the Yellowjackets would not come until later in the game, as
Guillermo Gelpi threw four scoreless innings and would only allow five hits on the day with 10 strikeouts.
A pair of extra-base hits in the top of the third extended the lead for Park, as Torres started off the inning with a single followed by doubles by Sanchez and
Ricardo Hernandez for a 3-0 lead.
Three of Graceland's hits came in the bottom of the fifth to give them two runs on Gelpi.
Alex Rodriguez was able to get one of those runs back in the sixth with an RBI single to left center, but the Yellowjackets overtook Park in the bottom of the seventh for the second walk-off of the day, 5-4.
Gelpi struck out the lead-off batter in the seventh, but two walks ended his day at 6.1 innings pitched. The Yellowjackets scored three runs on zero hits, as a walk, two consecutive hit batters, and a wild pitch gave the Yellowjackets the winning runs.
GAME 3 | W, 8-2 | Box Score
Park left no doubt in game three, despite falling behind 1-0 in the first inning to Graceland.
Adam Stilts rebounded and put the first inning behind him for his fourth complete game and 11
th of his Park career on six hits and seven strikeouts.
A back-to-back walks in the second inning got the Pirates off to a good start with
Zayne Morrow then clearing the bases on a triple to the alley in right for the 2-1 lead.
An infield base-hit by Hernandez gave Park another run in the top of the third for the 3-1 lead. The inning began with two consecutive singles by Rodriguez and Rivera.
Park scored in the last three straight innings to reach an eight-run lead, which included a two-RBI single from Torres in the sixth.
Stilts five shutout innings in the game and only was hurt in the sixth inning when two errors helped get the Yellowjackets their second run across in the 8-2 Pirate win.
Seven different Pirates had hits in game three with Morrow leading the way on a two-for-three performance with three RBI's.
GAME 4 | W, 8-1 | Box Score
No runs scored for the first three innings in game four.
Bryan Aguirre came to play with his third win of the season and back-to-back complete games for the Pirates.
Rivera got the wheels turning in the fourth inning on a lead-off single. The Pirates altogether had five hits in the inning by Torres, Sanchez, Hernandez, and a double by Morrow. It was on Hernandez' single to the opposite field that brought in two runs for Park for a 2-0 lead.
Graceland's only run came in the fourth, which Agguire was able to limit a one-out triple to just one run. He finished his outing with five strikeouts on only five hits and two walks.
A big five-run inning came through in the top of the fifth to put the game out of reach with two hits, three walks, and a hit batter. Torres had one of the big hits in the inning with a two-run single.
The game was well out of reach at that point, but Park tacked on another run in the top of the seventh to complete the series split, 8-1.
The Pirates face Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo. on Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21 for their next conference series.
WATCH
#ParkUNation