UINDY 11, PARKSIDE 5
Parkside baseball had its 2019 season opener spoiled by UIndy Friday afternoon, as the home Greyhounds used a big six-run bottom of the fifth inning to pull away. Ryan Hollander and Dominic Esposito each finished 2-for-4 as the Greyhounds outhit Parkside 11-8.
 
EARLY INNINGS
The Rangers took an early lead and held on through 3.0 innings thanks to strong pitching early on from newcomer Peyton Schneider, who had a no-hitter going through 3.2 innings. In the top of the second inning, the first four batters reached for the Rangers, as senior Ryan Hollander led off with a single into center field and Nick Eisenmenger drove him in on an RBI triple, scoring Parkside's first run of the season. Eisenmenger came in to score on Dominic Esposito's RBI single up the middle. The Rangers had runners on second and third in the inning as well, but failed to add on to the lead.
 
UINDY PULLS AWAY
UIndy tied it up at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning, then exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fifth to go up 8-2. The Rangers made it an 8-4 ball game in the top of the eighth with help from a Greyhound error, which scored the first run of the inning. The second came in to score as Hollander forced a pickle and Shawn Rigsby scored from third.
 
UIndy scored three more runs in the bottom of the eighth to finish out. The Rangers added their final run of the game in the top of the ninth thanks to a balk, finishing it out at 11-5 UIndy.
 
A LOOK AT THE BOX SCORE
Hollander and Dominic Esposito each started their seasons strong, going 2-for-4 while Eisenmenger went 1-for-3 with an RBI triple. The middle of the order was strong for the Rangers, finishing with five of the team's eight hits.  
Schneider was tagged with the loss, going 5.0 innings allowing eight runs (six earned) on seven hits. Jake Macaluso and Isaac Lawler each pitched a scoreless inning.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Parkside will finish out the three-game series with UIndy on Saturday, with a doubleheader starting at 10 a.m.