Cougars Split MCC Twinbill with No. 25 Taylor


	Cougar Baseball Recap Cougars Split MCC Twinbill with No. 25 Taylor written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game 1 Boxscore \| Game 2 Boxscore MASON, Ohio (3-10-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University baseball team split the second doubleheader of the program's first Mid-Central College Conference four-game series as the Cougars fell 3-0 and then bounced back for a 5-3 victory in the nightcap in action against NAIA No. 25 Taylor (Ind.) University on Saturday afternoon at Legacy Field. In the first game, MVNU (5-3, 1-3 MCC) was only able to muster a one-out first-inning walk to junior shortstop Jordan Doherty, a leadoff single by freshman outfielder Robert Kane in the top of the fifth inning, and a one-out single by sophomore first baseman Seth Eller in the top of the seventh inning. Senior third baseman Josh Roberts also reached on an error with one out in the top of the fourth inning. Meanwhile, the Trojans (5-6, 3-1 MCC) tacked on single runs in the bottom of the second inning, the bottom of the third inning, and the bottom of the fourth inning as Taylor built a 3-0 lead that would stand up. Junior lefty Justin Brown (1-1) took the loss for the Cougars as he scattered seven hits, three walks, and three runs (two earned) over six innings with two strikeouts. Ryan Baker (1-0) tossed a two-hit shutout with seven strikeouts and one walk over seven innings to notch the victory on the mound for the Trojans. Taylor Luna paced the Taylor offense by going 2-for-2. "Today's games were very competitive from both teams," said MVNU coach Keith Veale. "We are trying to establish some starting pitching depth, and heading into today we still have not established our pitching rotation. This was Justin's second start of the season and I thought he threw very well. He only gave up a single earned run in the second and third innings. We broke down defensively to allow an unearned run in the fourth inning, but that was it." "Offensively, we were shut down by their starting pitcher," Veale added. We could not generate any offensive threats, and we were held in check the whole game. It was the best pitched game we have had against us so far this season. However, Justin kept us in it and that was encouraging." The Trojans took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of the second game as the two-time defending MCC regular-season champions looked to try to sweep the four-game series. Ian Nielsen drove in the unearned run with a sacrifice fly. The Cougars knotted the score at 1-1 in the top of the second inning when freshman outfielder Jake Dickerson tripled to right center and then came in to score on an RBI single by sophomore outfielder Robert Kane. MVNU took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning when freshman catcher Kevin Chaffin singled to center. Freshman outfielder Andrew Fila came in to run for him and moved to second on a ground out by sophomore outfielder Sean Flemming. After Fila stole third, junior shortstop Jordan Doherty drove him in with an RBI ground out to second base. The score remained that way until the top of the seventh inning when Dickerson and Kane reached with back-to-back one-out singles and then moved up to third base and second base respectively on a wild pitch. Freshman second baseman Sterling Harpst drove in both runners with a bunt single to give the Cougars a 4-1 lead, and Harpst later came around to score on an RBI single by Doherty for a 5-1 advantage. MVNU would end up needing all of those runs as Taylor did not go down without a fight as the Trojans scored two times in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull within 5-3. However, with the bases loaded and the potential game-winning run at first base, Nielsen struck out to end the game and give the Cougars their first MCC victory. Sophomore right-hander Mike Kochheiser (1-0) *(right)* worked 6.2 innings and allowed just four hits, two walks, and three runs (two earned) with six strikeouts as he made just his second career start. Senior right-hander Jeff Estep came on to record the final out and allowed one hit and one hit batsmen before registering the game-ending strikeout to notch his second save of the year. Derek Kinzer (0-1) took the loss for Taylor as he allowed eight hits, one walk, and five runs with three strikeouts. Drew Flatford recorded the final two outs and gave up a hit while striking out one batter. Dickerson, Kane, and Chaffin each collected two hits to pace MVNU, while Michael Nassar and Rhett Goodmiller each had two of the Trojans' five hits in the game. "We started Mike due to a hamstring injury to (junior) Darren (Athey)," said Veale. "He really responded and gave us a big lift to finish the series. I am so pleased with the way he has progressed on the mound. This was a big opportunity for him to get the start in a conference game and he handled himself exceptionally well. He threw five scoreless innings without giving up a hit in innings two through six." "We were clinging to a one-run lead heading into the seventh when we finally strung some things together," Veale continued. "Looking back, we needed everything we produced. Sterling laid down a perfect suicide squeeze that we were able to score two runs with on a ball that only traveled 20 feet. Jordan tacked on another run with an RBI single and that was also an important run. I like what Jeff did at the end of the game and that is another positive for the day." "We were very fortunate to get the final game of the series," said Veale as the Cougars finished 1-3 in the four-game set with Taylor. "It was a boost for our spirits and confidence. We were out-played much of the series, and I know we are disappointed to go 1-3. However, there were some encouraging things. We were very competitive in all four games. If we can eliminate some of our own mistakes, we can turn future series results around in our favor. We were facing the preseason No. 1 team in the conference that starts five position seniors. They play with a lot of confidence and we are just not there yet. We just need a little more consistency and confidence to compete with the upper echelon in this league. If we can get pitching performances like we did this weekend and we can do it on a consistent basis, I think we can improve our results and compete at the upper end of the conference. That being said, there is a lot to improve on and it won't be easy." The Cougars will now shift their focus to the team's annual spring trip to Florida. MVNU will leave on Wednesday for 10 games in a seven-day span in the Lakeland area. The Cougars will begin the trip with a doubleheader against Mount Marty (S.D.) College on Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Walter Fuller Complex in St. Petersburg.

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