RECORDS: Bluefield State College (13-32) | Central Penn College (14-15)
LOCATION: East Field Park in Glens Falls, NY
IN BRIEF: After going down 4-1, Bluefield State combined for nine runs between the fifth and sixth inning to defeat Central Penn College 10-4 in the opening round of the USCAA Baseball Small College World Series.
HOW THEY SCORED: In the bottom of the first inning designated hitter Sam Harris flied out to right field bringing home Drew D'Angelo for Bluefield State. Central Penn came out strong in the top of the second with Keith Gregory getting on base and Casiano finding the gap for a base hit advancing Gergory. Casiano stole second base before a blooper to center by Gabe Arellano scored both runners.
The Knights from Central Penn built upon their lead in the 3rd inning on a sac fly by Luis Padilla to bring home Biller III and advance Camden Woodward to second. Gregory singled to the gap but an error on the throw home allowed Woodward to score to make it 4-1.
In the bottom of the 5th inning, with bases loaded, Chase Chambers was hit by a pitch to bring the Big Blues within two. O'Hara hit a grounder to the shortstop but reached on a throwing error and was able to advance to second. Two unearned runs scored on the play to tie the game at 4-4.
In the bottom 6th, Harris doubled to score D'Angelo from second. With Harris and Winston on base, Durham hit the first home-run of the tournament, scoring three. Bluefield State scored two more runs in the inning to stretch the lead to 10-4, which is how the contest would finish.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE: Bluefield State's Addison Meeks put in a full seven innings of work for the Big Blues and struck out four in the process, allowing eight hits. Durham's homerun tallied three RBIs with Harris, Chambers, and O'Hara each getting two of their own.
Central Penn College's Christian Fulp went 5.1 innings allowing four earned runs and struck out six. Arellano and Gregory each had two hits for the Knights. Gregory was 2-3 with a run scored while Arellano was 2-4 with two RBIs. Casiano had a stolen base to bring his season total to 14.
NEXT UP: Bluefield State College will face the top seeded University of Cincinnati Clermont this afternoon at approximately 5:30 PM EST (Due to weather delays – game originally scheduled for 4pm). The Central Penn College Knights move to the elimination bracket and will face the loser #4 The Apprentice School and #5 Cleary University at 8:30am EST on Tuesday.
