By Blake Meacham–The Morningside baseball team played Hastings College last Saturday in a double-header, followed by another double-header on Sunday against Doane College. The four-game weekend marked the second weekend of conference play for the Mustangs, who came into the first twin-bill with a 3-1 conference record and a 27-7 overall record.
Saturday
At Lewis and Clark Park in Sioux City, Iowa, the Mustangs took on the Hastings College Broncos starting at 1 pm. The Mustangs were not forgetful of the fact that Hastings ended Morningside’s season last year in the conference tournament and came out hot in the weekend opener. The 14-6 final verdict was highlighted by a sparkling offense, which scored in every inning of the seven-inning The Mustangs smashed 16 hits in an effort that saw Blake Rogers and Nolan Hoff hit home runs that sailed over the left field wall in the third and fourth inning, respectively. After Hoff’s tank, the score read 9-1—but the Mustangs were hungry for more. They scored five runs over the next two innings to put seal the deal in game one. Rogers, who had two singles to add to his home run, led the offensive attack. Nate DeChaine and Cole Chapin both had doubles and singles to pace the Mustangs as well.
Starter Doug Vanecek left the game after the third inning due to apparent arm tightness. Reliever Ross Ackerman came into the game and pitched a scoreless fourth inning, which earned him the pitching win.
“We were barreling up everything in that game,” said outfielder Cole Halgerson. “Even the balls we didn’t hit hard found a way to fall in for a hit. That’s how you know you’re hot.”
Luck changed hands in the second game of the day when the Mustangs found themselves facing a 5-0 deficit in the first inning, after a two-out, two-run home run was awarded to the Broncos on a ball that appeared to go through the middle of the outfield fence in foul territory.
However, the Mustangs responded, scoring one run in the second, two in the third, and two in the fourth to notch the game at 5-5 after five innings. A Blake Meacham home run and a Nolan Hoff RBI double back highlighted the come back. Morningside started the falter defensively and on the mound in the sixth and seventh innings, when Hastings scored four runs combined in the two innings. Cole Halgerson hit a solo home run in the seventh to shorten the Bronco lead to 9-6, but Morningside couldn’t scratch another run for the rest of the game.
Kevin Bevilacqua was given the pitching loss. Morningside made two errors in the game, both in the three-run seventh inning for Hastings.
Sunday
In Crete, Nebraska, on Sunday afternoon, the Mustangs took the diamond against the Doane College Tigers. The first game, which was set to last seven innings, saw Morningside hop in front of the Tigers with an early 4-0 lead after three innings.
Nate DeChaine kicked things off with a two-run bomb over the center field fence in the first inning. DeChaine tallied the fourth run in the top of the third on a sacrifice Unfortunately, the Mustang offense could only manage one hit for the rest of the game as Doane Rallied with a four-run fourth inning, followed by another run in the fifth inning.
With the score at 5-4, neither offense could tally a run, as both pitching staffs dominated the last two innings of the game. Cody Selig pitched a complete game, but was given the pitching loss. He allowed five runs on either hits while recording a season-high nine strikeouts.
The Mustangs were trailing again in the nightcap 1-0 after the third inning when their fortune changed for good. K.J. Herbert supplied a bases loaded single that plated two runs in the fourth inning to make the score 2-1. Mitch Kellogg provided his own RBI single on the next at-bat to end the inning with the scoreboard reading 3-1.
Doane responded with a run in the bottom half of the fourth inning. After that, though, the Tigers couldn’t get another run to cross the plate. Nolan Hoff crushed a two-out, two-run home run over the right field fence, creating a 5-2 lead. Joe Genoways had an RBI walk in the seventh inning, Nate DeChaine belted an RBI double and Cole Chapin had an RBI single in the eighth to finish the scoring for the Mustangs.
The MVP of the game for the Mustangs came from starting pitcher Luke Henning. He pitched the first five innings, allowing two runs on only three hits while striking out two batters. Ricky Mitchell hurled a dominating sixth, seventh, and eight innings. He allowed only one hit and faced only 10 batters. Lance Spongberg struck out the side in the ninth inning to finish off the Tigers, sealing the win for the Mustangs with an 8-2 final score.
“We obviously wanted to at least go 3-1 on the weekend, but we really grinded it out today and beat a team that’s always tough to beat,” said relief pitcher Jon Van Beek.
The Mustangs are currently second in the conference with a 5-3 record. They play Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Saturday, followed by games against Concordia in Sioux City on Sunday.
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