By Blake Meacham–The Morningside Baseball team split two games on Saturday and swept both games on Sunday to start the regular season with a 3-1 record. Now they have to wait almost five more months before they play another regular season game.
Due to a rule change, the Mustangs had the option of playing regular season games in the fall—months before the regular season has typically started for NAIA baseball in middle to late February. The Mustangs elected to play four games last weekend, in hopes of kicking off their season to an early, yet quality, start.
Saturdays opener saw a slugfest between Morningside and Presentation College, with Presentation eventually landing the fatal blows in the eighth and ninth innings, winning with a final score of 12-8.
The first contest saw the Mustangs slug four home runs—two solo shots from second baseman Nolan Hoff, and two-run home runs from shortstop Dylan Mersola and Jacob Lamoreux. Despite the power surge, Presentation still managed to find multiple gaps in the Mustang defense, hitting a home run, four doubles, and two triples. Shea Patterson was given the pitching loss for Morningside.
Immediately after the game against Presentation, Morningside took the field against the team they beat in the national tournament last season, Mayville State. Completely different from the previous game, this nine-inning affair was a pitching duel. Cody Selig started on the mound for the Mustangs, hurling for an efficient four innings. He scattered four hits, struck out six, and walked nobody.
For Mayville, Zach Mahoney went eight full innings, allowing one run on five hits while walking two and striking out seven.
After Selig left the game, Lucas Henning came in for a long-relief appearance. He allowed no runs on four hits while striking out two. After Henning came Cam Wagner to close the game in the ninth inning. After allowing a one out hit followed by a wild pitch, Wagner struck out the next hitter. With two outs in the ninth with a runner on second, Wagner induced a game ending ground out.
“I was feeling a good amount of pressure, pitching against such a good team in my first career appearance at Morningside,” said Wagner after the game. “I just stuck to what got me there in the first place and it worked out.”
Valley City State
Sunday saw the Mustangs battle the Valley City State College Vikings at 11 A.M. for the first game of the day. Morningside got out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with a Joe Genoways home run that sailed well-over the left-field fence. Valley City State responded with a home run of their own in the top of the 4th, a two-run bomb that just cleared the left-field fence.
The Vikings extended their lead in the top of the 8th, with some precise bunting and a costly error on a throw to first base. With the score at 4-1, Morningside managed to scratch two runs across in the bottom half of the 8th thanks to a two-out, two-run double by Cole Chapin.
After Jon Van Beek held the Vikings scoreless in the top of the ninth, the Mustangs loaded the bases from two walks to Nate DeChaine and Genoways and a single from Dylan Mersola. Alex Marrujo hit a sharp ground ball in the next at-bat, but it was snagged by the shortstop and thrown home for the force out.
With one out and the Mustangs down a run, Mitch Kellogg walked to tie the game at four runs apiece. Up next was Derek Clayton, who struck out swinging. With two outs, Jacob Lamoreux, the leadoff hitter, stepped up to the plate. He was 0-3 in the game prior to the at-bat, with three groundouts to second base. On the second pitch, Lamoreux sent a fastball over the right field fence—a walk-off grand slam.
“We weren’t very good at the plate up until the last two innings,” said Coach Brian Drent. “We weren’t hitting with intent. Finally something clicked. We need to get better, but ya know, we competed hard in that one towards the end.”
Jon Van Beek was given the pitching win, while starting pitcher Jared Sorenson was given a no-decision.
Winnipeg Warriors
The final game of the weekend came against the hard-luck University of Winnipeg Warriors. The game was played across the river from Fargo, North Dakota, in Moorehead, Minnesota.
The game got off to a quick start for the Mustangs. They scored four runs on five hits. Three of those hits were back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles from Dylan Mersola, Johnny Ruiz, and Blake Meacham. Then, in the fourth inning with the score at 6-0, Blake Rogers blasted a fastball over the left field fence for a two-run shot.
In the top of the seventh inning, with the Mustangs needing two runs to have a chance to end the game via ten-run rule, Meacham blasted a two-out, two-strike fastball over the left field fence to spread the lead to 11-0. Winnipeg scored one run in the bottom of the seventh, but couldn’t scratch another one across, causing the game to end early.
J.L. Tourville earned the pitching win, striking out three and walking one, while allowing only one hit.
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