The Park University Gilbert baseball team headed south to Tucson for the second time this season, where they split a high-scoring doubleheader with NCAA DIII Kalamazoo College at Kino Sports Complex.
Game 1- Park Gilbert 13, Kalamazoo 7 (7 Innings)
At times this season, ice cold bats have plagued the Buccaneers' ability to pull out wins. In Wednesday's game one, the opposite could not be more true as they got across a whopping 13 runs on 15 hits.
Of their 15 hits, eight were extra base hits. Most notably, DJ Downen and Austin Chouinard opened the floodgate with back-to-back first inning home runs. Each scored a pair of runs as Aaron and Alex Stinnett, respectively, were driven in. For Downen and Chouinard, it was their fourth homers each.
A lot of days, five runs might be enough to eke out a victory, but it took more than that as Paxton Prentice surrendered five earned runs in 1.2 innings. He was relieved by Luke Turner, who got the Buccaneers out of the second inning. Turner, Connor Barton and Aaron Lizarraga threw the next 4.1, hitless innings, which set the Buccaneers up to break things wide open.
Five total came across in the fifth inning. Logan Livingston and Aaron Stinnett hit leadoff singles; the former scored by stealing home. Alex Stinnett scored his brother with a left field single. Then, Joaquin Martinez and Joey Martinez both doubled to center field to score Alex, Joel Adamson and Chouinard.
The Buccaneers tacked on three more in the sixth inning for good measure. Adamson doubled to score pinch runner Chris Amador then came home himself for a second time when a wild pitch moved him to third and an error allowed him to score.
Five Buccaneers (Aaron Stinnett, Alex Stinnett, Chouinard, Joey Martinez and Livingston) all had multi-hit games. Chouinard went 3-3 with a walk and was a triple short of the cycle. 13 runs is tied for the second most scored by the Buccaneers all season.
Game 2- Kalamazoo 8, Park Gilbert 3 (7 Innings)
For the second game in a row, the Buccaneers' starting pitcher struggled, but this time, they could only score three runs. Three runs was not even enough to overcome the four that starter Logan White surrendered in the first two innings, but it was enough to keep them within striking distance for most of the game.
They matched the Hornets' two, first innings runs when Chouinard hit his fifth homer of the season. With that homer, he overtook Downen for the team lead. Alex Stinnett doubled in the third inning to score Amador.
Down 4-3 in the sixth inning with Matthew Medina on the mound, it looked like the Bucs would have a chance to take the lead in the final frame. Instead, the Hornets stung Medina for four runs to put the game away.
Only four Bucs registered a hit in game two; Aaron Stinnett was the only one to have a multi-hit game to go along with a stolen base. With the split, the Buccaneers are now 7-16 on the regular season.
What's Next: The Buccaneers (5-4 in Cal Pac games) return to conference play when they travel to Riverside, Calif. for a series with La Sierra on March 25th and 27th. Both dates are doubleheaders and scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
