Brandon Gibbs hit streak continues as UHSP splits with Principia

ELSAH, IL – The UHSP Eutectics delivered an all-around team effort Tuesday afternoon, racking up 11 runs on 11 hits to cruise past Principia College in a dominant 11-3 road victory to open a Tuesday non-conference doubleheader. A strong start at the plate set the tone early, and UHSP never looked back. In their second game of the night, despite out-hitting the Panthers 9-8 and playing error-free defense, UHSP couldn't complete the comeback ultimately falling just short in a narrow 5-4 loss.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS:

UHSP 11, PRINCIPIA 3

• UHSP jumped on the board in the first inning with an RBI double by Ethan Harrell, scoring Brandon Gibbs.
• The Eutectics exploded for five more runs in the second, including an RBI double from Jordan Gonzalez, a run-scoring triple from Holden Campbell, and a sacrifice fly from Gibbs.
• Harrell added to the momentum with a triple to center in the second, scoring Jacob Grim and pushing the lead to 6-0.
• In the third, Gibbs recorded his second sac fly of the game, driving in Malcolm Merriwether for UHSP's seventh run.
• Principia answered with three combined runs in the third and fourth innings, but UHSP's bullpen shut things down the rest of the way.
• Matthew McDonald doubled in the sixth to drive in Campbell, extending the lead to 8-3.
• UHSP capped off the win with three runs in the seventh, highlighted by a 2-RBI single from Gibbs and a sacrifice fly by Campbell.
• Gibbs led the offense with 4 RBIs going 2-for-3, scoring twice and stealing two bases, while Harrell went 3-for-4 with two extra-base hits and two RBIs. Gibbs extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
• Four different pitchers combined to allow just three earned runs and struck out four across seven innings. Kyle Smith earned the win in relief, improving to 2-2 on the season.
• Ethan Booth (0-2) suffered the loss getting the start and going only 3.1IP. He gave up seven up the Eutectics' runs allowing seven hits and walking five while striking out a pair.

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS:

PRINCIPIA 5, UHSP 4

• Principia struck early in the bottom of the first, plating three runs on a two-RBI single from Justice Fortson and a sacrifice fly by Dean Wood.
• UHSP got on the board in the second as Ruben Ogando grounded out to short, bringing home Nolan Harding.
• The Eutectics kept the pressure on in the third: Holden Campbell drove in Barrett Bressette with a groundout, and Malcolm Merriwether followed with an RBI single to score Brandon Gibbs.
• UHSP tied the game at 4-4 in the fourth when Campbell reached on a fielder's choice and an error allowed Jackson Cavazos to score.
• The Panthers reclaimed the lead for good in the sixth on Tyler Gingras' RBI single.
• Brandon Gibbs paced the UHSP offense with a 3-for-4 performance, including a double and a stolen base as his hitting streak reached 14 games.
• Deklan Riggs kept the game close out of the bullpen, striking out four over three innings of work while limiting Principia to a run on four hits.

NEXT UP:

All eyes now turn to the final spot in the AMC Tournament. The Eutectics (18-28, 12-20 AMC) enter the final stretch of the regular season tied in the win column with Williams Baptist (21-20, 12-16 AMC). UHSP will hit the road this weekend for a matchup against Hannibal-LaGrange (7-27, 6-26 AMC) on Friday for a doubleheader that starts at 12:00p while the Eagles still have four games series remaining against Central Baptist (25-20, 21-11 AMC) and Mission (24-16, 17-11 AMC). The Eutectics hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over WBU having just recently taken three of four. UHSP is trying to clinch a spot in the AMC Tournament for the first time in just their second year of existence.