The #7 Northwood baseball team came from behind to defeat Rio Grande 15-12 on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Seahawks improve to 23-7 overall on the year.
Keivan Berges drilled a two run homer over the left field fence giving Northwood an early 2-0 lead. However, the Red Storm responded with seven runs in the second taking a 7-2 advantage. In the bottom half, a double steal by Gabby Mundo and Tyler Hitt led to a throwing error by the catcher allowing Mundo to score making it 7-3. Jesus Fuenmayor ended the inning with an RBI single platting a run getting to within 7-4.
Rio Grande answered, pushing back out to an 8-4 lead in the third, but a sacrifice fly by Brandon Crawford made it 8-5. The Red Storm platted four more runs in the sixth taking a 12-5 lead, when the Seahawks stormed back with six runs in the bottom half.
With the bases loaded, Berges walked scoring a run and RBI singles by Luis Roman, Casey Mullennix, and Tyler Goff got Northwood to within 12-11. Northwood would retake the lead in the eighth inning with four runs.
A perfect bunt by Mundo tied the game at 12-12 and Nick Black was hit giving Northwood the 13-12 lead. A walk to Carlos Contreras stretched it to 14-12 and Roman put the game away with an RBI single winning 15-12
Cody Faulkner picked up the win, throwing two innings of late relief, striking out three and not allowing a run. Roman led the way at the plate with three hits, and Berges had three runs batted in.
Head Coach Jeremy Kennedy said, "Well today was ugly but we got the job done and there is something to be said for that. We just didn't pitch good but offensively we did what we had to do in order to win. We made some big plays defensively that gave us a chance to win. Cody came in at the end and got the job done for us after a disappointing day for him yesterday. It was big for him to step up and take the ball tonight."
The Seahawks return to the field on Tuesday afternoon when they travel to Florida Memorial for a seven inning doubleheader. The games are set for 12:30 and 2:00 p.m.
