PINE BLUFF, AR – In a tune-up match on their home diamond, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff baseball team secured an in-state victory over Arkansas Baptist with a final score of 14-0 on Monday evening at the Torii Hunter Complex.
This would be the first time in history that Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Arkansas Baptist would compete on the diamond.
Carlos Velez led the Golden Lions with three runs, followed by Timothy Martin, Aiden Martinez, Karsten Vasquez, and Andre Greene with two runs each.
Davion White and Greene both were outstanding at bat, going 2-for-3 at the plate.
Dalton Smead and Mike Gerwitz were outstanding from the hill, combining for no-hitters and Smead closing Arkansas-Baptist out.
After being walked to first-base, Velez took the risk of stealing the second base before Green hit a grounder to second base allowing Velez to make his way to third base. White then hit a flier to the right field to gain an RBI, allowing Velez to make his way to home plate to get UAPB on the board in the bottom of the third.
The confidence from Velez's run began to rub off on the entire team, allowing the Golden Lions to steal five bases in the bottom of the fourth inning. Those five stolen bases converted to Arkansas-Pine Bluff gaining five runs with four RBIs, bringing the score to 6-0.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff then took things to another level in the bottom of the fifth inning with the momentum coming from Dante Leach stealing home base after hitting a triple.
Derek Blakemore hit a single to the rightfield for an RBI with the bases loaded, allowing Martin to make a run to reach home plate.
Arkansas Baptist kept the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff would take advantage of every opportunity they had. After a Greene rightfield single, Blakemore ran for home plate to touch the plate as well as Vasquez to give Greene two RBIs in one play.
Greene then stole second base with White at bat. White then hit a double to center field, giving Greene and Velez another opportunity to score, and earning two RBIs under White's belt following a Leach foul to right field for White run to secure the victory over Arkansas Baptist 14-0 at the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Golden Lions will return to the diamond at the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex against LeMoyne-Owen College, with the first pitch being thrown at 2 p.m.
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