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Cougars Sweep MCC Series from Huntington
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
Game
1 Boxscore |
Game
2 Boxscore
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (3-27-2012) - The Mount
Vernon Nazarene University baseball team
swept a doubleheader from Huntington (Ind.)
University for the second straight day as
the Cougars won all four games in the
Mid-Central College Conference series
against the Foresters after posting 3-2 and
4-2 victories on Tuesday afternoon at Cougar
Field.
MVNU (14-8, 5-3 MCC) took a 1-0 lead in the
bottom of the second inning of game one when
freshman outfielder Jake Dickerson pounded a
solo home run - his fourth of the season -
to leftfield with one out.
In the top of the fourth inning, the
visiting Foresters (7-15, 2-6 MCC) took
advantage of a pair of errors by the Cougars
to plate a pair of unearned runs and take a
2-1 lead. Eric Schultz had an RBI double and
Jamon Hammel added a sacrifice fly.
MVNU knotted the score at 2-2 in the bottom
of the fifth inning when freshman catcher
Clint Spencer blasted a long home run to
left center. It was the first home run of
Spencer's collegiate career.
The score remained tied until the bottom of
the seventh inning when freshman second
baseman Sterling Harpst led off with a
double down the leftfield line. Two outs
later, sophomore outfielder Robert Kane
grounded a single just under diving second
baseman Chris Menzie and into rightfield.
Freshman outfielder Andrew Fila, who had
come on to pinch run for Harpst, scored from
second base to give the Cougars 3-2 walkoff
win.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Mike
Kochheiser started the game for MVNU and
tossed 6.2 innings as he scattered five
hits, two walks, and two unearned runs with
five strikeouts. Senior right-handed pitcher
Jeff Estep (2-0) retired the only batter he
faced to close out the top of the seventh
inning with runners at second and third
base, and he went on to pick up the victory
with the Cougars' offensive outburst in the
bottom of the seventh inning.
Ethan Tribolet (1-3) took the loss for
Huntington as he gave up eight hits, one
walk, and three earned runs over 6.2 innings
while also striking out six batters.
Kane, Dickerson, and Harpst each collected
two hits apiece to lead MVNU, while Schultz
went 2-for-3 to pace the Forsters.
"We struggled to score today," said MVNU
coach Keith Veale. "Give their pitchers lots
of credit for the way they mixed speeds.
They consistently had us guessing. We stayed
in the game with a couple of solo home runs
until the bottom of the seventh. Mike was
solid on the mound, only walking two, which
limited their scoring opportunities. We
brought Jeff in to give them a different
look. We like the way he goes at hitters
late in the game, forcing them to produce
with the bat. They put a good swing on the
ball, but we made the play. Sterling had a
huge leadoff double in the bottom of the
seventh, and after two outs, Robert really
came through."
In the second game, neither team was able to
score through the first two and a half
innings before the Cougars took advantage of
two failed pickoff attempts that resulted in
throwing errors in the bottom of the third
inning and two wild pitches that helped MVNU
score three times for a 3-0 lead. Dickerson
also had an RBI single in the frame to plate
one of the runs.
Back-to-back-to-back singles by Kane, senior
first baseman Josh Roberts, and sophomore
designated hitter Seth Eller with one out in
the bottom of the fourth inning extended the
Cougars' lead to 4-0.
The Foresters got on the scoreboard in the
top of the fifth inning with a run when Drew
Adams ripped a leadoff double to leftfield
and then came around to score following a
pair of ground outs.
Then, in the top of the seventh inning,
Huntington threatened to tie the game or
possibly take the lead as the Foresters
loaded the bases after the first two batters
were retired. A wild pitch brought in one
run to close the gap to 4-2 and put the
tying runs in scoring position at second and
third base, but Christner grounded out to
junior Jordan Doherty at shortstop to end
the game.
Junior right-hander Darren Athey (1-1)
earned the win for the Cougars as he
scattered eight hits, one walk, and two runs
(one earned) over 6.2 innings with two
strikeouts after being forced into the
starting slot when freshman lefty Cameron
Juhasz was scratched just prior to game
time. For the second straight game, Estep
entered the game in relief and retired the
only batter that he faced to get MVNU out of
a jam as he notched his third save of the
year.
Xyan Adkisson (2-2) took the loss for
Huntington as he lasted just 2.2 innings and
gave up eight hits, two walks, and three
runs. His two throwing errors in the third
inning along with a pair of wild pitches
were what helped the Cougars get on the
scoreboard. Wes Carroll tossed 1.1 innings
of relief and allowed three hits and a run,
while Brian Kirschbaum closed out the final
two innings by allowing just one base runner
on a hit batsman as he struck out four
batters.
Offensively, Kane continued to swing a hot
bat as he went 3-for-4 to finish with five
hits for the doubleheader as he raised his
batting average from .379 to a team-best
.415. Eller and Doherty also added a pair of
hits. Hammel and Shaun Marion led the
Foresters with two hits each.
"Before the game, Cam came up to me and let
me know his arm was bothering him and that
he couldn't make the start on the mound,"
said Veale. "We gave Darren the start, and
he really responded. You have to appreciate
a guy who steps in with little notice and
isn't bothered by the situation and just
performs. We were able to piece a few things
together in the third inning, aided by a
couple of errant pickoff attempts and some
key two-out hits. Jeff bailed us out again
in the seventh by getting the final out with
the tying run in scoring position."
"These were big conference wins," Veale
added. "Four games on back-to-back days is
challenging. It's still very early in the
conference schedule, and you don't want to
bury yourself in the first couple of series.
We will have to find a way to get through
our innings on the mound Thursday, but I
think we look forward to the challenge."
The Cougars will return to action on
Thursday when they travel to Spring Arbor
(Mich.) University for an MCC doubleheader
that will start at 2 p.m. Spring Arbor
(21-2, 6-2) jumped up to No. 10 in the
latest NAIA poll that came out on Tuesday
after the Cougars won their first 15 games
of the year before splitting a four-game
conference series with Indiana Wesleyan
University.
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