By Blake Meacham–The Morningside baseball team was originally scheduled to play two doubleheaders this past weekend, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. However, due to the freezing temperatures on Saturday afternoon coupled with high wind gusts and snow, only one game was played on Saturday. This created a rarely seen tripleheader, which was played on Sunday. Last year, the baseball team took part in two tripleheaders, going 6-0 combined on those days.
Game One (Saturday)
The Mustangs piggybacked on stellar pitching performances, led by starter Cody Selig, to cruise to an easy 7-0 victory in nine innings. Selig tossed a full six innings of three hit and seven-strikeout shutout baseball to earn the win. Selig leads the team in strikeouts so far this season with 27 in 22 full innings. Ross Ackerman, Jared Novotny, and Lance Spongberg each pitched one inning after Selig to finish the game, giving up zero runs on only two hits combined.
Morningside started the scoring in the first inning when Blake Rogers brought home Jake Lamoreux on an RBI groundout. The offense busted the game open in the fifth inning when three runs crossed the plate, increasing the score to 5-0 in favor of the Mustangs. In the inning, there were RBI singles from Nate DeChaine and Lamoreux. Lamoreux led the offense, going 3-4 with a double in the competition.
“That was by far the coldest game I’ve ever played in,” said Lamoreux after the game. “I hope I never do that again.”
Game Two (Sunday)
The Sunday tripleheader was led off by a 6-3 victory for the Mustangs.
Morningside kicked off the scoring in the second inning on a single from Joe Tourville, which brought in Cole Halgerson, making the score 1-0. Then, in the fourth inning, Tourville brought in Blake Meacham on another single.
In the top of the fifth, Winnipeg made the score 2-1. However, Morningside responded in the bottom half of the inning with four runs. Nolan Hoff had an RBI single, Nate DeChaine brought in two runs with a double, and Cole Halgerson delivered a two-out RBI single to make the score 6-1.
Winnipeg added two more runs in the top of the seventh to make the score 6-3 before Ricky Mitchell eventually recorded the final out on the mound. Kevin Bevilacqua earned the pitching win, pitching four of the seven total innings. He allowed one unearned run on two hits and struck out five.
Game Three
Sunday’s second game had another hot start for the Mustangs, who led 2-0 after the first inning thanks to RBIs by Blake Meacham and Cole Halgerson. Then, in the third inning, a dropped fly ball in left field added two more runs to the Mustang
Not everything was easy going for the Mustangs in this game, as Winnipeg threatened a 4-1 lead in the top of the sixth with a bases-loaded and two-out situation. Lance Spongberg came in to relieve Jon Van Beek, who recorded the first two outs of the inning before getting pulled when he allowed four straight hits and a run to cross the plate. Spongberg caused a groundout to end the Winnipeg scoring threat. Mitch Kellogg had an RBI single and Joe Tourville had a sacrifice fly to extend the Mustang lead to 6-1. Spongberg earned his third save and Jared Sorenson earned the pitching win.
“Nobody ever likes coming into a situation like he (Spongberg) did,” explained reliever Jared Novotny. “But he’s one of our experienced guys and he showed it today.”
Lance Spongberg leads a senior-heavy bullpen, which coach Brian Drent calls one of the best in the country.
Game Four
In the last act of the tripleheader, the Mustangs busted out the last of the pop that they had in their bats to complete the sweep of Winnipeg.
The scoring started in the first inning, a typical theme for the Mustangs this season. Lamoreux got on with a leadoff single, and after a pitch hit Blake Rogers, Nate Dechaine brought them both home with a two-out double.
In the second inning, doubles by Spencer Wyant and David Foley were part of a three run inning. DeChaine picked up another RBI with a sacrifice fly. The nail in the coffin came in the fifth inning, when the Mustangs added five runs to the scoreboard. Eric Salmonson and Joe Genoways had RBI singles, while
Cole Chapin added a two-out, two-run single. Foley led the Mustangs with a 3-4 effort, including a double and a triple. Lucas Henning earned the win on the mound, going four innings. He gave up one unearned run on two hits and two strikeouts.
“It was good to get the bad taste out of our mouths from dropping three in a row before these games,” said reigning GPAC pitcher of the week Doug Vanecek.
“When our defense is consistent and we’re barreling up balls, we win games. Our pitching has ben great all year. When our offense and defense plays at their level, we’re really tough to beat,” added David Foley.
The Mustangs square off against Southwestern Assemblies of God in Joplin, Missouri on Friday and Saturday.
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