The Park University Gilbert baseball team overcame a five-run deficit and a power outage with an out to go in the game to pull off a 10-9 win against Ottawa (Ariz.) at the Surprise Recreation Complex Royals Field 6 this evening.
The Bucs got off to a great start in the first as head coach Kelly Stinnett shuffled his lineup around. Aaron Stinnett who had been hitting down in the lineup, moved to the leadoff spot and paid immediate dividends with a leadoff single. With one out his brother Alex followed with a double down the left field line to bring him all the way around to score the opening run. Then with two outs, DJ Downen drilled his first home run of season, which was also the first for the Bucs as they took a 3-0 lead.
On the mound, Paxton Prentice who made his debut in relief last Friday, made the first start in his collegiate career. He held the Spirit scoreless for the first three innings before they were able to put together a four-run rally in the fourth.
The Spirit added three more in the fifth off of Prentice and Chase Provencio. Park Gilbert was able to answer with a run in the top of the six but OUAZ answered right back with two more in the bottom of the inning.
With the score 9-4, things were looking bleak, but the Buc bats which had slumped in the later innings in the first three games, came alive in the seventh. It started with a Joel Adamson infield single and then he proceeded to steal second. After a walk to catcher Cole Sneed, Aaron Stinnett doubled to right center to score Adamson and courtesy runner Chris Amador. Then pinch hitter Joey Martinez launched his first home run as a Buccaneer, a two-run blast, to left field to cut the lead to one 9-8.
After a scoreless eighth for both teams, the Bucs had to try and tie the game in the ninth against submarine reliever Juan Naverette. With one out, pinch hitter Travis Moore tripled down the right field line. Aaron Stinnett was then hit by a pitch to put the go-ahead run on first. A wild pitch to Martinez brought Moore home with tying run and moved Stinnett to second. The Bucs could not bring the go ahead run home as Martinez flew out to center and Alex Stinnett struck out to end the rally.
Matthew Medina threw a scoreless ninth inning to send the contest into extra innings.
In the 10th, Austin Chouinard who came into the game hitting .636, crushed a ground rule double to right center to start things off. With one out, Amador who was pinch running for Chouinard, advanced to third on a wild pitch. Then, Aaron Lizarraga, who came into the game in the eighth inning as a late game defensive replacement, singled up the middle to score Amador and give the Bucs a one-run advantage,
Aaron Gutierrez came on to close things out in the bottom half of the inning. He started with a strike out, before giving up a double to put the tying run in scoring position. Gutierrez then struck out the next hitter to bring the Bucs within one out of their first win of the season. But right after the strikeout, the lights on the field went out and the game went into a 17-minute delay while the lights were restored. Gutierrez then finished the game with a three-pitch strikeout to give the Buccaneers their first win of the season.
Aaron Stinnett, Alex Stinnett, Chouinard and Adamson all had multiple hits on the game. Aaron Stinnett, Martinez and Downen each had two RBI's on the night.
Medina (1-0) got the win in relief, Gutierrez picked up his first save of the season.
Park Gilbert gets one day off before hitting the field again on Thursday, February 10 against No. 13 Vanguard in the ACU Firestorm Invitational at Tempe Diablo. The game is slated to start at 1 p.m.
