Spartans Split on Senior Day
Apr 26, 2014 | J.Crane
DUBUQUE, IOWA - The University of Dubuque Baseball team split with Simpson College on Senior Day. The Spartans entered the day needing two wins to move closer to the sixth and final spot in the upcoming Iowa Conference Tournament. UD took care of business in the opener with a 6-4 victory but lost 12-6 in game two. Joey Kilsdonk (Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) , Vince Parisi (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew), and Steve Ryan (Loveland, Colo./Mountain View) were honored between games as graduating seniors. The Spartans are 12-24 overall and 7-17 in the Iowa Conference.
The Spartans will enter the final weekend of the season needing to win all four games of the series against Luther. UD is currently tied for seventh place, two games out of the sixth.
| Score by Innings | -- Game 1 -- | R | H | E | |||||||
| Simpson | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| Spartans | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | X | - | 6 | 11 | 2 |
| WIN: D.Garst (2-3) LOSS: G.Reis (3-4) | |||||||||||
| SAVE: J.Naval (4) | |||||||||||
| BOX SCORE | |||||||||||
UD won the opener behind 11 hits and timely hitting in innings three through six. Freshman Eddie Pablo (Yelm, Wash./Yelm) reached base four times with a double, walk, and two singles. He also drove in two runs and scored another.
Simpson started the scoring in the third with a two-run home run. The Spartans responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the third to start a string of four straight innings with a run scored. The big hit in the inning came off the bat of Parisi as he drove the ball to deep right center for a double that scored Daniel Casanova (Lake Tapps, Wash./Auburn Riverside) and Will Fogel (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South). Pablo picked up a two out single up the middle to score Parisi and give UD a 3-2 lead.
The fourth inning damage at the plate for the Spartans would all come with two outs as UD scored one run but left the bases loaded. The two-out rally began with a walk by Ryan Karrick (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett). Karrick advanced to second on a single by Casanova. Fogel drove in his third run of the weekend with a single up the middle to score Karrick. The Spartans regained the lead in the fifth came on a sac fly off the bat of Jacob Evans (Normal, Ill./Normal West) to score Pablo who led off the inning with a double to left center.
Justin Naval (Oak Lawn, Ill./Richards) pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh to earns his fourth save of the year. The Spartans added an insurance run in the sixth after a single to centerfield scored Parisi from second base. Dalton Garst (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) scattered nine hits over five innings to pickup his second win of the season.
| Score by Innings | -- Game 2 -- | R | H | E | |||||||||
| Simpson | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 12 | 16 | 4 |
| Spartans | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| WIN: A.Richman (2-1) LOSS: J.Padilla (0-1) | |||||||||||||
| BOX SCORE | |||||||||||||
The Spartans scored three runs in the first inning but allowed Simpson to score in seven innings. The UD defense played a major factor in the Simpson offense as they comitted six errors leading to five unearned runs. Garst and Austin McWhite (Orlando, Fla./Wekiva) had two hits each.
Four straight singles and a bases loaded fielders choice led to three runs. Fogel began the rally with a single through the left side and Parisi singled to put runners on first and second. McWhite and Pablo each had RBI singles for the first two UD runs. White eventually scored the Spartans third run on a fielders choice by Evans.
Simpson would add a run in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth, two in the fifth, and two in the sixth to take a 11-4 lead before UD would score again. The UD runs in the sixth and seventh would come as the results of four Storm errors.
Jacob Padilla (Victorville, Calif./Victor Valley) took the loss in relief giving up three runs (two-earned) in 1 2/3 innings. Kilsdonk pitched a scoreless ninth on Senior Day.
UP NEXT: The Spartans will travel to Luther College next weekend for the final four game series for the 2014 regular season. Game time on Friday and Saturday is 1:00 pm.
Stay up-to-date with all UD Athletics on Twitter at: @UDubuqueSports
