PARMA, Ohio -- The Pirates pulled off a home-and-home Great Lakes Conference sweep of the Redmen, as Rocky River defeated Parma, 13-4, on Thursday.
For the Maroon & White, the victory at Veterans Park followed a 19-8 win over the Redmen on Tuesday. The back-to-back wins mark a first for the Pirates on the young season.
Rocky River (3-4, 2-1 GLC) fell behind, 3-1, when the home nine cobbled together a pair of singles, a walk, and an error in the bottom of the first inning. But the Pirates leveled the score at 3-3 when they got an unearned run and then a Kate Tlapa RBI single in the second. Starting pitcher Maggie Hill kept River right there with a scoreless second. The visitors traded one run for two in the third frame and took a 5-4 lead into the fourth.
In the top of the fourth, a single and a stolen base by Maire Kelly was followed by a two-bagger off the bat of Emily Satayathum. Kelly came around to score River's sixth run.
Hill protected the 6-4 advantage by working around a walk in the bottom of a scoreless fourth. She fanned three batters in the inning and would finish the game with seven punch-outs. The Redmen failed to get a base hit off Hill in their final 11 plate appearances. For the game, the junior hurler allowed four runs (one earned) on four hits in five innings.
The fifth was a scoreless frame for both sides. The Pirates then exploded for seven runs in the top of the sixth inning. Perhaps more accurately, Parma imploded for seven River runs: the Pirates plated those seven with the benefit of just two base hits.
The game was called on a count of heavy rain with one out in the bottom of the sixth.
CANNON FIRE ...
FROM THE BUCS SCORE: Five River players registered RBIs in Thursday's game. Kate Tlapa logged three RBIs; Kelsey Murphy was credited with four. Murphy clocked 11 runs batted in over Rocky River's twin wins over the Redmen. ... The Pirates outhit the Redmen, 7-4. Both teams were tagged with two errors.
ON DECK: Rocky River is slated to host a non-conference doubleheader against Hathaway Brown on Saturday.
by Skip Snow
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