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Stuart Cash
Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com
15
Winner Grinnell GRINNELL 4-4
14
Rhodes RHODES 8-3
Winner
Grinnell GRINNELL
4-4
15
Final
14
Rhodes RHODES
8-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Grinnell GRINNELL 0 0 3 0 2 6 2 1 0 1 15 17 0
Rhodes RHODES 4 0 0 2 2 3 2 0 1 0 14 15 2

W: Shaul, Daniel (1-0) L: Will May (0-1) S: Pink, Connor (1)

9
Grinnell GRINNELL 3-5
12
Winner Rhodes RHODES 9-3
Grinnell GRINNELL
3-5
9
Final
12
Rhodes RHODES
9-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Grinnell GRINNELL 0 0 4 1 0 4 0 0 0 9 12 2
Rhodes RHODES 2 5 0 2 0 0 3 0 X 12 10 3

W: Ryan Fallmann (1-0) L: Gaynor, Jonathan (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Ted Schultz

School-record performance sends Grinnell baseball team past nationally-ranked Rhodes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A school-record performance and explosive offensive performance by Grinnell College's baseball team spelled trouble for a nationally-ranked foe Sunday.

Nikolas Ruden '26 tied school records for home runs and total bases in a game as the Pioneers outlasted 24th-ranked Rhodes College 15-14 in the opening game of a twin bill at the University of Memphis' stadium.

Ruden blasted three homers and tallied 14 total bases in the extra-inning affair. As a team, the Pioneers piled up 17 hits in the slugfest.

Ruden was 5-for-6 at the plate with six RBIs. The hit total is tied for second in program history and RBI count is tied for seventh. Stuart Cash '27 and Joe Chanis '27 each added three hits for Grinnell, while Jacob Gaynor '28 tallied two.

The Pioneers fell behind 4-0 in the first inning, but jumped back into contention with three runs in the third. Ryan Jackson '29 scored on an error and Cash and Ruden each hit RBI singles to center.

Rhodes went up 6-3, but a two-run homer to left by Ruden in the fifth made it 6-5. After Rhodes took an 8-5 lead, Cash belted a three-run homer in the sixth, Ruden added a two-run shot and Wyatt Raymond '28 hit a solo homer to put Grinnell ahead 11-8.

The Lynx tied it in the bottom of the sixth, but the Pioneers answered in the seventh when Connor Pink '29 hit a solo homer and Cash plated a run on a sacrifice fly. Rhodes tied the game at 13-all in the bottom of the seventh before Ruden blasted his third homer of the game in the eighth, tying the school record of three shared by five players - most recently Luke Porter in 2023. 

Rhodes tied it in the ninth to force extra innings. In the 10th, Ruden led off with a single to boost his total bases to 14, tying the school mark by Jimmy Bombulie against Knox College in 2001. After a strikeout, Chanis doubled Ruden to third and Ben Skiles '28 hit a sacrifice fly.

In the bottom of the 10th, Pink induced two groundouts and a strikeout to pick up the save. Daniel Shaul '26 was the winning pitcher.

Rhodes broke away from a 9-all tie in the second game with three runs in the seventh for a 12-9 victory. Cash, Connor Goodson '26 and Ruden all had three hits for Grinnell in the 12-hit attack.

The Pioneers fought back valiantly from an early 7-0 deficit, scoring four runs in the third, one in the fourth and four more in the sixth. In the third, Ruden hit a two-run single and Pink and Maddux Anderson '29 plated runs with fielder's choices.

Ruden had a run-scoring single in the fourth and a bases-loaded walk in the sixth. Also in the sixth, Skiles slashed a three-run double.

Jonathan Gaynor '28 was the pitcher of record for Grinnell.

The Pioneers now head to Pensacola, Fla., to participate in the Blue Wahoos Challenge. Grinnell's first game is Tuesday against Carroll University.




 
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