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Cougars Sweep Huntington in Conference
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written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
Game
1 Boxscore |
Game
2 Boxscore
HUNTINGTON, Ind. (3-26-2012) - The Mount
Vernon Nazarene University baseball team
used a pair of solid pitching performances
and timely hitting to sweep a doubleheader
at Huntington (Ind.) University in
Mid-Central College Conference action on
Monday afternoon by the scores of 3-1 and
12-2.
The Cougars (12-8, 3-3 MCC) jumped on top
early in the first game as MVNU took
advantage of three errors by the Foresters
to plate two runs for an early 2-0 lead.
Sophomore designated hitter Seth Eller
plated the first run with a sacrifice fly,
while the second run came in on one of the
errors.
The lead grew to 3-0 in the top of the
fourth inning when sophomore outfielder
Robert Kane drove in a run with a two-out
single to center.
Huntington got on the scoreboard in the
bottom of the fifth inning on a sacrifice
fly by Adam Christner, but the Foresters
left the bases loaded as they were unable to
get any closer.
Senior right-hander Kyle Barr (3-0) earned
the victory for the Cougars - the 22nd of
his career - as he scattered six hits, one
walk, and one run over seven innings with
five strikeouts. He is now tied for tenth
place in school history in wins, ranks ninth
in career strikeouts (228), and moved into
tenth place in innings pitched (232.2).
Mitch Bowers took the loss for the Foresters
as he gave up six hits, two walks, and three
runs over seven innings with two strikeouts.
Offensively, Kane led MVNU with a pair of
hits, while Chris Menzie went 2-for-3 with
the lone extra base hit of the game - a
double - to pace Huntington.
"Game one turned into a pitchers' duel,"
said MVNU coach Keith Veale. "We were
fortunate to create a couple of runs in the
first inning. We hit some balls hard and got
some help with a couple of defensive
miscues. You never know how many runs you
may need in the end, and those two runs were
the difference."
"I thought Kyle was sharp and if we defended
behind him we would be in great shape,"
Veale added. "We only had one error on the
day and that is especially important in
low-scoring games."
The Cougars took a 2-0 lead in the top of
the second inning of game two on an RBI
single by junior shortstop Jordan Doherty
and a sacrifice fly from freshman second
baseman Sterling Harpst.
MVNU tacked on three more runs in the top of
the third inning to make it 5-0 as the first
two batters were hit by pitches and one run
later came around to score on a wild pitch.
Eller drove in one run with a sacrifice fly,
and sophomore third baseman Jeff Stone added
an RBI double.
The Foresters closed the gap to 5-2 with
single runs in the bottom of the fourth and
fifth innings, but the Cougars regained
control with a big five-run top of the sixth
inning that was highlighted by a three-run
homer by Kane - the first of his career -
and a two-run single by Harpst as MVNU's
lead grew to 10-2.
Freshman outfielder Jake Dickerson closed
out the scoring in the top of the seventh
inning with a two-run bomb - his third home
run of the season - to complete the 12-2
victory for the Cougars.
Junior lefty Justin Brown (2-2) earned the
victory for MVNU as he allowed just four
hits, one walk, and two runs over seven
innings with a career-high eight strikeouts.
All four hits allowed by Brown were singles.
Tyler Palmer started and suffered the loss
for Huntington as he gave up six hits, two
walks, and six runs over five innings with
two strikeouts. Derek McKinney did not
retire a batter in the sixth inning, but
allowed two hits and two runs. Wes Carroll
and Ty Mills also tossed one inning apiece
and each allowed two runs with two
strikeouts.
Offensively, Kane and Harpst both drove in
three runs apiece with Kane, Doherty, and
sophomore outfielder Sean Fleming each
collecting two hits to lead MVNU.
"Once again, we were able to get the lead
early and allow Justin to settle in on the
mound," said Veale. "We did a nice job
extending our lead in the second inning.
They helped us with a couple of hit by
pitches, which really opened up the inning.
Seth and Jeff really drove the ball to plate
a couple of runs."
"Justin continues to impress on the mound,"
Veale added. "He has been pretty solid in
each of his starts early in the season. I
like the fact that he only walked one
today."
MVNU will return to action on Tuesday at 2
p.m. when the Cougars will host the
Foresters in the second doubleheader of this
four-game series.
"We have a really short turnaround with two
more games tomorrow," said Veale. "I'm sure
(Huntington) will be hungry to avenge the
results of today, and we need to have a
short memory as well."
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