(Mesa, AZ) The Park University Gilbert baseball team got the lumber rolling today as they salvaged the final game of the three-game series against the College of Idaho 21-3 at Arizona Athletic Grounds this afternoon.
The Bucs now stand at 1-2 here early in the season as head coach Kelly Stinnett tries to take a group of talented newcomers and mesh them with is solid batch of returning players.
The pitching stood out today as CI was held to seven hits and only three runs. It started with freshman lefthander Ivri Margolin from Israel, making his collegiate debut. He threw four innings scattering six hits and allowing three runs (2 earned) while striking out two and not walking a batter.
Following up Margolin was another freshman Trey Lagan who was even better, throwing four innings and allowing only one hit, no runs, no walks and four strikeouts. Senior Adrian Gamezthrew a scoreless ninth. The only blemish for Langan and Gamez was they both hit two batters.
Along with the outstanding mound work, the Buccaneer lumber company went to work with the sticks at the plate. The Buccos had 17 hits, nine walks and only seven strikeouts. Of those 17 hits, five were for extras bases including Andrew Allanson hitting his second home run of the season. The Bucs also set two team offensive records. They broke the mark for largest margin of victory (18) and also for most runs in an inning (11). The previous marks were 15 and 9 respectively.
College of Idaho jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Park answered in the bottom of the second with two runs of its own to tie the game as Brendan Blakeman tripled and Rees Hall singled home runs.
CI then plated its final run in the third, then the Buc onslaught ensued. Two in the fourth and five in the fifth broke the game open and gave the Bucs a 9-3 lead. Hall drove in two more runs in the fifth, and Jesh Leckey cleared the bases with a double for three RBI.
Leckey added an RBI in the seventh to make it 10-3, which was plenty the way Langan was dealing, but the Bucs put their foot on the gas in the eight. Marcon added two more RBI as did Jason Newton, Allanson with a two-run bomb, Caleb Rozier picked up his first RBI, Hall tacked on an RBI with a fielders choice and Marcon finished his spectacular day with a three-run triple.
Leckey and Hall both finished with five RBI total, and Marcon topped them both with six RBI which was one off the school record set last year by Dawson Wedeking.
The Bucs now hope to use this momentum into its first road trip of the season as they travel to Texas to take on 12th-ranked Texas Wesleyan in a double header on Friday, February 2 before facing Benedictine College from Kansas on Saturday February 3 in another double dip. The Bucs then return home for a three game set with Midland on February 9-10 at Arizona Athletic Grounds. Last year, Park and Midland played a highly entertaining and high scoring affair won by the Bucs 28-13. Park set seven team offensive records and four individual records, including the RBI record by Wedeking.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Preston English
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