AUBURNDALE, Fla. (March 12, 2023) - The Buena Vista baseball team team took on fifth-ranked Rowan on Sunday afternoon, and the Beavers rallied to tie the game in the eighth and ninth innings, but could never get over the hump and would eventually fall, 16-14, in 10 innings.
Rowan jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first before the Beavers cut the deficit in half in the home half by scoring a run on a wild pitch. The Profs moved back in front, 4-1, with two more runs in the second before tacking on one more in the third and two more in the fifth to build a 7-1 advantage.
Senior
Grant Oseka highlighted a five-run bottom of the fifth for BVU with a two-run home run. Oseka and
Joel Garcia each drove in runs in the sixth inning that gave the Beavers their first lead of the contest at 8-7.
Logan Mueller later doubled in the inning to push the cushion to 9-7.
The Profs, who scored at least one run in eight of the 10 innings played, tied things up in the seventh before going ahead 10-9 in the eighth. Oseka, who finished with four hits and five RBI's, tied things up for BVU in the eighth with a run-scoring single. Rowan, however, jumped back in front at 14-10 in the ninth with a two-run single followed by an error by BVU which scored a pair.
Jordan Mathewson helped start the scoring for BVU in the bottom half with a two-run double before Garcia added an RBI single to make it 14-13. Oseka came through in the clutch yet again, laciing a single up the middle to pull BVU even, but the team would leave the winning run stranded at second base.
A two-run single in the 10th for Rowan proved to be the eventual game-winner as the Beavers got the potential tying run to the plate in their half of the frame, but failed to score.
BVU chalked up 19 hits in the contest while the Profs had 18. Oseka, Garcia and
Jordan Mathewson each led Buena Vista with four hits in the contest as Garcia and Mathewson also added two RBI.
Drew Taylor chimed in with two hits and scored a team-high three times as Mueller also doubled, drove in one and scored a run.
Dalton Glenn was roughed up in his 4.2 innings of work after starting on the mound for the Beavers, allowing seven runs (six earned) and eight hits. Five relievers combined to pitch the final 5.1 innings. As a staff, BVU issed nine walks in the game while striking out only five.
The team, now 8-4 on the year, will close out its trip on Monday morning with an 8 a.m. first pitch against Benedictine (7-2).
