(Glendale, AZ) A record setting day was on tap for the Park University Gilbert baseball against Midland University on Friday afternoon in the Firestorm Invitational. The Buccaneers (4-9) tied or set numerous records en route to a 28-13 win over the Warriors (0-3) at Glendale High School.
The Bucs broke the team record for most runs (28, prev. 21), most hits (28, 19), most RBI (28, 19), most at bats (53, 51), and most home runs (4, 3). They tied the mark for largest margin of victory (15) and most runs scored in an inning (9).
Individually they tied the marks for most hits (5, by Joaquin Martinez), most RBI’s (7, by Dawson Wedeking), runs scored (4, by Aaron Stinnett, Travis Moore and Cade Maestas), and home runs (2, Austin Chouinard).
Park Gilbert jumped ahead in the top of the first with five runs, three of the them coming on a three-run dinger off the bat of Travis Moore for his first home run of the season. The Warriors answered right back in the bottom half of the inning with four of their own on Bucs starter Joseph Chavira who was pulled after the first seven batter reached without an out being recorded. Kyle Poapst entered and got the Bucs out of a bases loaded jam, recording three outs on four pitches (two pop ups and a ground out).
As was the case for the who game, the Bucs continued to add on in the second , scoring three runs, with two coming on the first of Chouinard’s two homers on the day. The see-saw battled continued in the bottom half with Midland plating two more runs themselves.
The Buccos added one in the third to give them a 9-6 lead, but Midland plated two more in the third and two more in the fourth to take a 10-9 lead.
After not scoring in the top half of the fourth, the Buccaneers decided to take over the game in the fifth. Nine runs were scored on 10 hits as the Bucs sent 14 men to the plate. After Midland scored two more in the bottom of the fifth to make it 18-12, you had to wonder if either pitching staff would be able to curtail the other team’s offense.
Then in the sixth, for the only time all game, neither team scored in an inning. But this was short-lived as the Bucs would put up one in the seventh on Jeremiah Chavira’s first career home run, six more in the eighth and tacked on three insurance runs in the ninth.
The Bucs staff behind Brad Goodwin and Zachary Fogle kept the midland bats in check over the last four innings only allowing only one run with no walks and five strikeouts. Goodwin gets the win and Fogle gets his first career save as the rule book gives a pitcher a save for throwing the last three innings of a win regardless of the run differential.
In addition to all of the tied or broken records, the Bucs had seven players with multi-hit and run scoring games and five players with multi-RBI contests. In addition to Wedeking with seven RBI, Chouinard had a career high six RBI, Moore and Martinez also had career high five RBI games.
The Bucs do not have a lot of time to enjoy this one as they return home to play the final game in the Firestorm Invitational at Bell Bank Park against British Columbia who they lost to 12-5 on Wednesday. Matthew Armendariz is the probable pitcher for the Buccaneers.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Preston English
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