BIG FIFTH INNING POWERS WARRIORS PAST IU-SOUTH BEND

AUBURNDALE, Fla. - It was a bad time to be a baseball during the top of the fifth inning in the Warriors' (6-8) 15-4 win over Indiana South Bend (7-6) on Wednesday, March 6. After a 4-0 fourth inning to tie the game, the Warriors scored ten unanswered runs to take a commanding lead over the Titans and avenge their loss earlier in the season.

Pitcher Bryan Masterson threw a complete game - his first as a Warrior - striking out seven batters. Seven Warriors logged hits, with senior Brendan DeFlorio and sophomore Raymond Perez III each logging three RBI.

LET'S PLAY BALL

FIRST THREE INNINGS

• It was a slow start for the Warriors, who took three quick outs to start the game. In the bottom of the first, the Titans found home plate off a sacrifice fly to throw the first punch. The second inning was brutal for the Warriors, lining out with bases loaded before errors allowed South Bend to find home plate three times
• The third inning was another slow start, with the Warriors getting caught stealing before another line out. The bottom of the third was the momentum changer, as Perez made a brilliant spinning throw after tagging second to send South Bend packing on a double play
• The Warriors found their stride in the fourth inning after DeFlorio and Bateman got in scoring position due to a wild pitch. Cameron Tupper capitalized with an RBI double before being joined by Luke Jayaraman with an RBI double of his own. Perez joined in with a two-RBI single to tie the game before the Warriors' third out

THE NEXT THREE

• Three quick outs set Rochester well at the top of the fifth. Lucas Bateman stole second after a walk to help the Warriors load up the bases, before being allowed to waltz home on a balk. Donovan Galovich got Rochester a big hit with a center-field double for two RBI, followed up immediately with a Perez single RBI
• The bases loaded up again, and Jack LaRue walked to send Galovich home. On the next at-bat, Bateman hit a single that struck first base for two RBI, scoring pinch runner Trace Hudson and Perez. The cherry on top was a bomb of a home run by DeFlorio, which scored three for the Warriors. The bottom of the inning featured two big strikeouts by Masterson to continue the momentum
• The sixth inning saw the Warriors' final run, where LaRue doubled to left field to give Jayaraman a score. After the Warriors allowed two South Bend players on base, Masterson continued his masterclass with two consecutive strikeouts to end the sixth

THE CLOSER

• The final inning was quiet for the Warriors. DeFlorio singled to left field before stealing second on defensive indifference, but the inning ended on a quick flyout. However, the Warriors left no scraps for the Titans, as Tupper fielded the final flyout to end the game

STAT OF THE GAME

Masterson's complete game is the first by a Warrior this season.

POSTGAME PRESSER

Head Coach Scott Kunert had this to say following the win:

"The big thing we've talked about the last few weeks is next guy up. When something good happens, we want the next guy to follow it up. When something bad happens, we really want the next guy to pick us up. That's been the mentality, and we saw that last game against a good Clermont team and today against a good IU-South Bend team that beat us earlier."

JV GAME

JV baseball also secured a win during the day, defeating Holy Family 7-6 in an all-time classic. Marco Murillo hit a triple in the sixth inning to set up the Warriors' tying run before Nathaniel Pierce doubled to take the lead. Ian Nitterhouse took the mound in the top of the seventh, and got a big-time save thanks to a strikeout-throwout double play to win the game for the Warriors. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors compete against Northwestern (IA) at 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6, to continue the RussMatt Invitational.

Hussein Murray - RU Athletic Communications