AUBURNDALE, Fla. — Dickinson State used a seven-run sixth inning to pull away from Judson for an 11-2 win Wednesday at the RussMatt Invitational. The Blue Hawks finished with 10 hits, drew five walks and took advantage of four hit batters and three Judson errors to improve to 11-10 on the season.
Judson scored first in the bottom of the first. Kevin Flores tripled and later came home on a passed ball for an unearned run and a 1-0 lead. Dickinson State answered in the second and did not trail again.
Moses Dokes opened the second with a single before Jaden Salazar hit a two-run home run to right field. Later in the inning, Jadyn Roberts reached on an error, stole second and scored on Jace Buchanan's RBI single to push the Blue Hawks in front 3-1.
The Blue Hawks added another run in the fifth without a hit. Luis Rodriguez reached on an error, moved to third on Wyatt Wilharm's sacrifice bunt and scored on Dokes' sacrifice fly for a 4-2 advantage. The run was unearned.
Dickinson State then broke the game open in the sixth. Roberts was hit by a pitch to start the inning, Ramon Teran singled and Buchanan was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ty Farwell was then hit by a pitch to force in a run. Two batters later, Rodriguez delivered the key swing of the game, hitting a grand slam to center field to extend the lead to 9-2. After Wilharm singled and Dokes doubled, Logan Braaten added a two-run single to cap the seven-run frame and make it 11-2.
Rodriguez finished 1-for-3 with four RBIs, two runs scored and two walks. Salazar went 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a walk. Buchanan had two hits and an RBI, while Dokes went 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and one run scored. Braaten drove in two runs off the bench, and Roberts scored twice.
On the mound, Mason Manning earned the win after working the first two innings. He allowed one hit and one unearned run while walking four. Noah Aliff followed with a scoreless third inning, striking out two. Jerry Santiago Jr. allowed one run in the fourth, Cooper VanLuchene worked a scoreless fifth and Tyler Cutler closed the final two innings without allowing a hit while striking out three. Dickinson State pitchers combined to hold Judson to two hits.
Flores accounted for both of Judson's hits, going 2-for-3 with a triple, a run scored and an intentional walk. Jacob Skinner took the loss after allowing four runs, three earned, over five innings.
