It wasn't the series that Schreiner University's baseball team probably wanted, but there was at least one positive.
Down 78-3 in the first game of a doubleheader against visiting St. Thomas on Saturday, the Mountaineers roared back in the bottom of the ninth with five runs to win 8-7.
In the second game, also the series finale, Schreiner's offense sputtered in a 10-3 loss that helped St. Thomas win the series 2-1. It was the opener of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for both teams.
Fito Mendez had a strong pitching performance on Saturday, but not enough to win. |
In the first game, Schreiner won with an RBI single by Adam Sanchez, that scored pinch runners A.J. Rodriguez and Aaron Recio, who beat the tag at the plate to give the Mountaineers a walk-off victory.
Things were looking difficult for the Mountaineers, who trailed 7-0 at one point. Even with a strong pitching performance by Fito Mendez, who struck out six, the Mountaineers couldn't find their offense. Schreiner loaded the bases three times only to come up short with no runs.
Finally, the Mountaineers broke through with three runs in the seventh when Raine Uecker hit a bases-loaded triple. In the ninth, Schreiner put two men on with a pair of walks and third baseman Chance Goins plated one run on an RBI single.
Uecker hit a sacrifice fly to score catcher Joseph DiCarlo cutting the lead to 7-5. Jett Muniz then delivered a single to score another run, setting up a game-winning opportunity for Sanchez.
In the second game, St. Thomas pounded out eight runs between the fourth and sixth innings, and Schreiner couldn't respond. The Mountaineers rallied for three runs in the fifth but held scoreless the rest of the game.
In two games, Schreiner left 23 runners on base. Gerardo Cardoza had his seven-game hitting streak snapped in the first game of the doublheader.
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