There's nothing a winning streak can't fix. After an eight-game losing streak had spirits down for the Park University Gilbert baseball team, they flipped the script this weekend against Providence Christian College finishing off a three-game sweep of the Sea Beggars with an 7-4 win this evening in Pasadena, Calif.
With the win, the Bucs up their record to 6-15 overall and move above .500 in California Pacific Conference play at 5-4. PCC falls to 4-23 and 0-9 in conference. Park Gilbert has won all six games in the history of the series. Three in Arizona last year, and the three in this series.
The Buccaneers dominated play from the start but did not have the runs on the board to show for it. In the first, the Bucs had three hits, but a double play negated the offense and Buccaneers went scoreless. The in the second, they tacked on two more knocks, but again left empty handed.
Meanwhile PCC scratched across a run in the first on a hit batsman, stolen base and a single to take an early lead in the first and then added on in the second with another run behind two hits.
The Buccaneers finally got on the board in the third as JJ Martinez drove home Julian Garcia Schroeder with an RBI single.
After PCC scored two more in the third to take a 4-1 lead, Park Gilbert exploded in the top of the fourth, powered by a three-run blast from Austin Chouinard. It was Chouinard's second home run in the series and it was his second Earl Weaver Special – a three-run homer. This put the Bucs up 5-4 and they would never trail again. They would add an insurance run in the sixth, again off the bat of Chouinard as he ripped a double to score Matthew Armendariz.
Buccaneer starter Joseph Chavira only lasted three innings, giving up all four Sea Beggars runs before being lifted. Matthew Medina (2-2) came on in relief to throw two scoreless innings as he picked up his second win on the year. Aaron de Groot who was not initially slated to make the trip as he recovered from an ankle injury, came on to toss the last four innings to pick up his first career save.
Up next for the Buccaneers is a doubleheader against Kalamazoo College on Wednesday in the Tucson Invitational before traveling back to California to take on La Sierra in another Cal Pac series.
