FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Rockford University baseball team got off to a hot start this season as the Regents opened with a 5-1 record entering their off day in Fort Myers, Florida. The Regents were hoping to keep their momentum going on Thursday when they returned to the diamond for a pair of games against Ohio Wesleyan University and Thiel College. Unfortunately Rockford did not play its best and dropped both games 13-8 to Ohio Wesleyan and 3-2 to Thiel.
In the opener, Rockford struck first with a run in the top of the first inning. Senior Cole Logemann (Lena, Ill.) drew a one-out walk to give the Regents their first base runner of the day. Two batters later, fellow senior Evan Frantini (Coal City, Ill.) crushed a double down the left field line to score Logemann and put the Regents out in front 1-0 after one-half inning of play.
The Regents' lead did not last for long as Ohio Wesleyan answered with runs of its own in the bottom of the first and second innings. The Bishops used two hits including a double and then an RBI single to tie the game heading into the second inning. Ohio Wesleyan then took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the second scoring four runs on four hits to jump in front 5-1.
Rockford slowly began to chip away at the lead over the next few innings scoring two in the third and two more in the fifth to tie the game. In the third it was center fielder Robert Smith (Bartlett, Ill.) who knocked a one-out single back up the middle to jump-start the Rockford offense. One batter later Cole Logemann drilled his first double of the game down the left field line to score Smith and cut into the Ohio Wesleyan lead. Three of the next four batters were able to work the count and draw walks with the final one forcing in a run as Rockford pulled back to within two runs after three innings of play. Following a scoreless fourth inning the offense once again came to life in the fifth. Ryan Scarpetta (Rockton, Ill.) led the inning off with a hard-hit single just past the outstretched arm of the Ohio Wesleyan third baseman. Rockford then loaded the bases courtesy of an Evan Frantini double and an Andrew Hunt (Apple Valley, Calif.) walk. Unfortunately the next batter grounded into a double play scoring one run, but leaving Rockford with just a runner on third and two outs. The Regents were able to scratch across one more run in the inning to tie the game when Bryce Hinkelman (Ottawa, Ill.) laced his second hit of the game back up the middle.
Unfortunately for Rockford things did not go well in the bottom half of the inning as Ohio Wesleyan scored 7 runs to take a commanding 12-5 lead. The Bishops used four hits and took advantage of one costly error as all seven runs were unearned.
The Regents were only able to score three more runs for the remainder of the game. In the sixth it was the combination of Robert Smith and Cole Logemann that accounted for the Regents' run. Smith was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch and stole third base. Cole Logemann then drove in his second run of the game with second double of day scoring Smith to make it a 12-6 game. Rockford's two run eighth inning again centered around Robert Smith and Cole Logemann. Smith began the inning with a walk and Logemann cracked his third hit of the game to give Rockford runners on second and third with no outs. Smith would later score on a wild pitch and Logemann crossed the plate on an Andy Hunt RBI groundout. Unfortunately the Regents were unable to get any closer as Ohio Wesleyan held on to win by a final score of 13-8.
After a high-scoring game in the morning, the Regents were involved in pitcher's duel against Thiel College in the afternoon. Freshman Joseph Valdez (Tuscan, Ariz.) was brilliant on the mound for Rockford. Valdez went six strong innings allowing just six hits and one earned run while striking out five. Valdez was never really in much trouble during his outing as he only once had multiple runners on base at the same time. Junior Adam O'Malley (Elk Grove, Ill.) then tossed the final two innings allowing three hits and one run while striking out one.
Offensively Rockford struggled to find any rhythm as the Regents scored just two runs, both of which came in the top of the sixth inning. Cole Logemann began the inning with a single into center field. Rockford then took advantage of two Tomcat errors to score Logemann and cut the Thiel lead down to a single run. One batter later Mitchell Gorsuch (Cherry Valley, Ill.) delivered a clutch single through the left side of the infield to tie the game at 2-2.
Following a scoreless seventh inning, Thiel was able to break the tie in the bottom eighth. The Tomcats used a single, a groundout and a pair of wild pitches to break the tie and score what turned out to be the game-winning run.
Rockford had multiple players perform well at the plate today. Cole Logemann went 5-for-7 with 2 doubles, 3 runs scored, 2 runs batted in and two walks. Evan Frantini was 3-for-8 with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI and 1 walk. Bryce Hinkelman went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
The RU baseball team returns to the diamond on Friday, March 11 in Fort Myers, Florida. The Regents open with Hiram at 9:00 AM EST before playing Bluffton at 12:00 PM EST.
