CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University baseball team played their first home games of the season on Friday at Thurman Munson Stadium against the West Liberty University Hilltoppers. In game one, West Liberty (2-5) pulled away to a 20-4 win, but Malone (3-3) rebounded well in game two and came away with a 6-2 victory.
 
GAME ONE RECAP:
Each team scored a run in the second inning to put the score at 1-1. A two-out rally started by Allen Diaz with a double resulted in a run thanks to a Robert Gumino RBI single. Three extra-base hits for the Hilltoppers in the next inning made it 5-1 and one more came across to score in the top of the fourth.
 
The Pioneers battled back and made it a 6-4 game in the bottom half of the inning. Zach Flohr led off the inning with a double and three straight hits by Gumino, Charlie Roberts and Eric Baum inched Malone closer. Anthony Ryan drove in an additional run via a ground-rule double at 6-4.
 
A pair of crooked numbers in the fifth (5) and sixth (9) ballooned the lead all the way to 20-4. Both teams were able to get some reserves playing time, but neither side was able to develop any more offense for the remainder of the seven-inning affair.
 
Diaz and Gumino had multiple hits for Malone and eight different student-athletes had a base hit. Starting pitcher Devin Norton (1-1) went four innings for the Pioneers and had five of the team's eight K's. Cadyn Smith had a scoreless inning in relief with two strikeouts.
 
GAME TWO RECAP:
Unlike game one of the series, the pitching staffs were locked in from the start. Starting pitcher Jackson Phelps dug deep to get out of a bases loaded jam in the second inning. For West Liberty, they would not allow a baserunner until the bottom of the fourth.
 
The Hilltoppers had a 1-0 lead and had retired ten straight Malone hitters before Ryan drew a one-out walk. Jordan Stevens was hit by a pitch and Jake Barker recorded an infield single to break up the no-hitter. Anthony Bartiromo stepped to the dish with two outs and the bases still loaded and he barreled up a pitch and send it into orbit over the left field fence to make it 4-1.
 
That lead would remain through the duration of Phelps' (2-0) outing. He would exit with five innings pitched where he struck out four. He gave way to Allen Laytart who received the hold after a scoreless sixth with three punchouts.
 
The Pioneers added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth with a bases loaded walk by Reilly Tyna and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Diaz. The Hilltoppers plated one unearned run off reliever Cooper Davies, but Malone secured the win 6-2.
 
Bartiromo, Tyna and Barker each had one hit and one walk, but none more critical than the grand slam from the senior Bartiromo in the fourth inning of the win.
 
UP NEXT:
The Pioneers will host the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown on Sunday, March 2 at 12:00 P.M for a non-conference doubleheader.