A shift in job responsibility was in order when University High saw its ace pitcher Grant Sunstrom deal with control issues in the first inning.
The lead in Saturdayโs Division III select state quarterfinal playoff with archrival Parkview Baptist had changed hands twice when the Cubs went to the bullpen for sophomore Greyson Rodrigue.
Rodrigue, who was previously in charge of the teamโs GameChanger application in the dugout, was summoned in relief of Sunstrom in the top of the second, and delivered a memorable five-inning outing, enabling the top-seeded Cubs to defeat the ninth-seeded Eagles 11-5 in the opening game of a best-of-three series at UHSโ Vick Field.
โI was shocked,โ Rodrigue said when he was asked to begin warming up. โI was a little nervous.โ
University (26-8) had Sunstromโs back and gave Rodrigue plenty of cushion. The Cubs regained the lead at 5-4 in the bottom of the second and picked up five of their seven hits against Parkview ace Logan Sorrel and extended their margin to 11-4 with five runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth.
โThatโs not Sunny,โ U-High coach Jon Ramsey said of Sunstrom. โHeโs normally a guy to throw plenty of innings and today just wasnโt his day. I told the kids thatโs what teams are about. Our team on offense stepped up against a very good arm.โ
The series resumes at 1:30 p.m. Sunday with Game 3, if needed, scheduled for 4 p.m.
โItโs playoff baseball,โ Parkview coach Phillip Hawke said. โSometimes you see things like that. Early, maybe guys were nervous. You saw it on both sides a little bit. The difference was their guy (Rodrigue) came in and kind of calmed the storm a little bit. I would have liked to see us continue to fight for it a little bit more there. Thatโs something weโll learn from and respond back tomorrow.โ
A matchup featuring two of the stateโs top arms would have predictably followed a much different script.
Parkview Baptist (22-13) scored twice against Sunstrom, a ถถา๕h Tech signee, in the first inning with the aid of two hit batters and two wild pitches. Clayton Fontenotโs bunt was the Eaglesโ lone hit and Henry Beckersโ groundout resulted in a run.
Three walks in the second resulted in Rodrigue taking over in relief and kept the Eagles to a pair runs and a 5-4 lead before getting out of a bases-loaded situation.
U-High tied the game at 4-4 on Camden Smithโs lead-off home run to right field. The Cubs took the lead for good on Trey Sotileโs RBI groundout.
Sorrel, a Kentucky signee, pitched five innings, allowing seven hits, eight runs (six earned) with three walks and eight strikeouts.
Max Mahaffey doubled in two runs with two outs into a tough right field sun. A wild pitch, RBI-groundout from Lane Mixon and run-scoring single from Judah Zito were part of the three-run sixth.
Rodrigue (1-0) yielded two hits over five innings, walked two and struck out three.
โHe throws strikes and has good velocity, a good breaking pitch,โ Ramsay said of Rodrigue said. โHeโs not afraid to be in the zone.โ
Linescore
University High 11, Parkview Baptist 5
Parkview Baptist 220 000 1 โ 5 6 3
University 330 023 x โ 11 9 1
W โ Greyson Rodrigue (1-0). L โ Logan Sorrel (4-7). Leaders โ UHS: Shepherd Gammon 2-2, 2B, 2 runs, 2 SBs, 2 HBPs, Mackie Musgrove 1-, 2 RBIs, Camden Smith 2-2, HR, RBI, 2 BBs, Clayton Fontenot 1-, RBI, Henry Beckers 1-, RBI, Nic Willams, SB, Max Mahaffey 2B, 2 RBIs, Judah Zito 2-4, RBI; PBS: Henry Beckers 2-4, run, RBIs, Seth DeGeorge 2-3, 2B, RBI. Records โ University 26-8, Parkview Baptist 22-13.