For the second time in less than 24 hours, the Aquinas baseball team knocked off (RV) Rio Grande at the season-opening Clash of Conferences Tournament in Johnson City, Tenn. AQ was on the wrong end of a 14-1 defeat to Thomas More (Ky.) on Sunday morning (Feb. 9), but the Saints responded with authority and posted a 15-6 victory over Rio Grande (Ohio) to cap off the weekend.
 
It was the second time in three games that Aquinas topped Rio Grande, which was listed as a Receiving Votes team in the NAIA Top-25 Preseason Poll. AQ was also scheduled to play host Milligan on Saturday evening, but inclement weather forced a change to the schedule and the game was cancelled.
 
Aquinas finishes the opening weekend with a 2-1 record. The Saints have a few weeks off before heading to Topeka, Kansas to take on Jamestown in a pair of doubleheaders on Feb. 29 and Mar. 1.
 
In game one, the Saints were overpowered by Thomas More (1-1), as the Saints from Kentucky scored multiple runs in four of their six at-bats. It was 6-0 after the first two innings and eventually 11-0 before AQ pushed its lone run across the plate.
 
Lorenzo Cupri led off the sixth inning with an infield base hit, moved up on consecutive singles, and scored on a groundball. Overall, Thomas More only held a 9-6 advantage in hits, though Aquinas did commit three errors.
 
Brady Keur and Sean Wing both went 2-for-3, while Cupri was 1-for-1 with a walk and the team's run. Four AQ pitchers toed the rubber, as Colin Smith, Bruce Buurstra, Cameron Fewless, and Blake Wright handled the pitching duties in the opener. 
 
The Saints scored early and often against Rio Grande (0-6), tallying runs in six of their seven at-bats and sealing the victory with a seven-run seventh inning. AQ outhit the Red Storm 11-5 and benefited from six Rio Grande errors. 
 
After Brady Paganelli reached on a leadoff error to start the game, Braden Nawrocki delivered a two-run homer to right field in his first at-bat as a Saint. In Nawrocki's second at-bat, the freshman delivered an RBI double to left center to score Tony Arnold for a 3-0 lead after two innings of play.
 
It was 4-2 when Aquinas plated three runs in the fourth inning, with Nawrocki again bringing in a Saint with a run-scoring single, as Paganelli scored after his leadoff double. Later in the frame, Joseph Kelley smacked a two-run single to score Nawrocki and Nick Brzezinski for the 7-2 advantage. 
 
Aquinas stayed in front at 8-6, but notched seven insurance runs in its final at-bat to clinch the win. The key hits in the frame were a two-run homer from Nathan Hughes, a two-run single from Keur, and an RBI single from Kelley. 
 
Mason Hill started for the Saints and tallied three strikeouts in three innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits. Richard Steffen earned the victory with two innings of two-hit relief, allowing just one earned run. Grant Smitz tossed the final 1.2 innings for AQ, allowing three walks but no hits. He struck out four batters and recorded the save.
 
Nawrocki finished with a 3-for-3 effort with a double, homer, three runs scored, and four RBI. Kelley was 2-for-4 with three ribbies, while Paganelli and Brzezinski each scored twice. Keur drove in two runs, as did Hughes with his roundtripper. Max Vicari was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks.