Mesa, Ariz. - The Firestorm bats reeled off seven consecutive innings with at least one run as Arizona Christian defeated the Park Gilbert Buccaneers 16-5 at Arizona Athletic Grounds on Tuesday night. Ten players got into the hit column, including five who belted two. Payton Robertson fronted an eight-man effort on the mound, Jackson Van Eyk credited with his first win of 2024 after getting through the fourth frame.

Jared Anderson and Marques Titialii produced four of the Firestorm's seven extra-base hits, Anderson with two doubles and Titialii with two triples.

Ryan Eastham, Andrew Ivy and Kane Kiaunis continued their relentless attack at the plate, each contributing two hits and combining for three RBIs and five runs.

Tanner Vielguth and Troy Collins uncorked home runs for ACU in this one, each coming in their first plate appearance and Collins' being the most potent (3 RBIs).

Arizona Christian has won the first two games in their season series with Park Gilbert, with one more contest set for Tuesday, April 23rd (Senior Day) at Greenway High School.

GAME INFO

Score: RV Arizona Christian 16 | Park Gilbert 5
Records: RV ACU 18-14 (10-8 GSAC) | PARK 17-17 (7-7 Cal Pac)
Location: Arizona Athletic Grounds - Mesa, AZ

STAT TRACKER

Jared Anderson - 2 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 doubles
Marques Titialii - 2 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 triples
Ryan Eastham - 2 hits, 2 RBIs
Andrew Ivy - 2 hits, 3 runs
Kane Kiaunis - 2 hits, 1 RBI, 2 runs
Troy Collins - 1 hit, 3 RBIs, 1 home run
Tanner Vielguth - 1 hit, 2 RBIs, 1 home run
Trey Tarver - 1 hit, 4 runs
Payton Robertson - 2.0 IP, 3 RA, 4 K

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Eastham, who ended up with his sixth multi-hit game of the season, got the scoring barrage started with a two-out single that brought in two runs. Both runs were unearned as Anderson should have been out at first in the preceding at-bat, but an error by third baseman Nick Miller allowed him to reach.

Robertson struck out two Buccaneers in the first and stranded one runner (Andrew Allanson). Vielguth then led off the second and sent a no-doubter over the right-field fence. Following two straight retirements, Ivy singled and triggered a sequence of triple (Titialii), double (Kiaunis), walk (Tarver) and double (Anderson) that resulted in four runs.
 
Park Gilbert responded with three runs in the bottom half of the second (7-3, ACU). Diego Bejarano kick-started the attack with a lead-off single and three more would follow. Robertson kept the damage at three by punching out his last two batters and stranding two on the bases.

Titialii rounded all the way to third for his second triple in the third, scoring Ivy for ACU's second run of the inning. Sean Wiese, the first Firestorm reliever, left the bases loaded and struck out one in the third.

Tarver earned his first hit of the ball game in the fourth, one of two (Anderson) to score for ACU due to an error and wild pitch incurred by the Buccaneers. Van Eyk, the eventual winning pitcher, retired the Park Gilbert lineup in order with only 11 offerings.

Ivy and Kiaunis both singled in the fifth, Ivy sent home thanks to an error by the Buccaneers pitcher, Angel Heredia. Evan Hieb ensured the Firestorm lead would remain nine, retiring Park Gilbert in order.

Anderson rapped his second double of the contest and Vielguth hit a sacrifice fly two batters later to score Anderson for the team's 13th run. Rocky King spearheaded the third straight "three up, three down" inning for the Buccaneers.

With two outs on the board, Troy Collins' connection was pure and he delivered the signature moment of the game, a three-run bomb that soared over the left-center fence. Harrison Howell and Jordan Vickers would combine to only concede one Park Gilbert hit (Shane Erickson) over the next two innings.

The Buccaneers had their best offensive output (two runs, four hits) in the ninth but Riley Quinton tightened his bootstraps and finished the job with a strikeout.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH JOE MCDONALD

"We did a really good job manufacturing runs with two outs and being tough in the box with two strikes," Coach McDonald said. "We had multiple arms throw tonight and very encouraging how well they threw. We're going to continue to move forward fast with positivity."

NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Arizona Christian Firestorm come back to Greenway High School for a Thursday night game against Bethesda (CA) (4-22). First pitch will be thrown at 7:30 PM. Don't miss a single play with live stats at https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary and watch the broadcast at https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian/.
    
                          
Roll Storm!