PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- After handing No. 20 Campbellsville (Ky.) a loss earlier in the week, the Midway University baseball team picked up their second victory of the week over a ranked opponent when they handed No. 14 Point Park (Pa.) their first River States Conference loss.
The Pioneers entered Friday's game with the top pitching staff in NAIA, but the Eagles took their bats with them to Pittsburgh as they pounded 14 hits scoring eight runs en route to the 8-3 victory to hand Point Park (30-3, 18-1 RSC) their first conference defeat.
The Eagles are now 20-17 overall and 12-6 in league play as they will look to win the series when the two teams meet for a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. ET.
Not only did Midway pound out 14 hits against the Pioneers, but they also got a gem from junior, Brandon Aoki on the mound. The Camarillo, Calif. native had a no-hitter through five innings as he took a 4-0 lead into the sixth after Midway scored single runs in the third and fifth innings before adding two more in the top of the sixth.
Zach Lampreia (Toronto, Canada) opened the third inning with a single and after a sacrifice bunt moved him to second, he scored on an RBI single by Danny Maguire (Dana Point, Calif.).
In the fifth, Carlos Cespedes (Santo Domingo, D.R.) reached on a walk to open the frame as he moved to third after a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch. Cespedes then scored on an RBI ground out from Layne Peavler (Harrodsburg, Ky.).
Then in the sixth, Graeham Luttor (Toronto, Canada) doubled to open the inning and after a wild pitch he moved to third. After Barrett Croslin (Russellville, Ky.) walked and stole second, Koy Lindsey (Sonora, Ky.) ripped a single down the left field line to stretch the lead to 4-0.
The Pioneers scored two unearned runs off Aoki in the bottom of the sixth, but the Eagles answered with two of their own in the seventh. Maguire singled and then Luttor crushed a two-run home run on the first pitch he saw to extend the lead back to four at 6-2.
Point Park added another unearned run in the bottom of the seventh off Aoki, but the Midway offense backed up their left-hander with two more runs in the top of the ninth. Kurt Paldino (Overland Park, Kans.) and Croslin hit back-to-back one-out singles to start the rally.
After Francis Mejia (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) was brought in to pinch run for Paldino, he scored on a throwing error by the shortstop on Matthew's Olson's (Louisville, Ky.) fielder's choice. Olson then came around to score on an RBI single by Koy Lindsey to give Midway an 8-3 lead.
The run support was more than enough for Brandon Aoki as he pitched a perfect ninth inning to seal the 8-3 victory to move his record to 5-4 on the season. The junior only fanned two in his complete game, but he got 14 ground outs and 11 fly outs in the win. He also allowed just four hits with zero walks in 95 pitches.
Koy Lindsey, Graeham Luttor and Danny Maguire led the offensive attack tallying three hits apiece. Lindsey went 3-for-4 with three RBI's, Luttor went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run, a double, two RBI's and two runs, while Maguire went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
Zach Lampreia added a two hit day with a run, while Layne Peavler accounted for Midway's other RBI. Francis Mejia, Barrett Croslin, Matthew Olson and Carlos Cespedes all collected one run in the win.
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