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Cougars Sweep Mount Marty in Spring Trip
Opener
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
Game
1 Boxscore |
Game
2 Boxscore
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (3-15-2012) - The Mount
Vernon Nazarene University baseball team got
its annual spring trip off to a good start
as the Cougars swept a doubleheader from
Mount Marty (S.D.) College by the scores of
4-3 in eight innings and 3-0 in action on
Thursday afternoon at the Walter Fuller
Complex.
 MVNU
(7-3) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the
first game when sophomore outfielder Sean
Fleming (left) led
off the game with a double to leftfield and
came around to score on an RBI single by
senior first baseman Josh Roberts.
In
the top of the third inning, Fleming reached
on a one-out double to right center, was
bunted to third base by junior shortstop
Jordan Doherty, and crossed the plate on a
wild pitch to extend the Cougars' lead to
2-0.
The score remained that way
until the bottom of the fifth inning when
the Lancers (8-6) used two walks and three
hits to push across three runs with two outs
as Mount Marty took a 3-2 lead.
MVNU
knotted the score at 3-3 in the top of the
seventh inning when freshman outfielder Jake
Dickerson singled with one out, moved to
second when sophomore outfielder Robert Kane
drew a walk, and then came around to score
on a single to left center by freshman
second baseman Sterling Harpst.
Mount
Marty threatened in the bottom of the
seventh inning, but the Lancers stranded two
base runners and had one other runner picked
off first base as the score remained tied
and moved to extra innings.
Roberts,
sophomore designated hitter Seth Eller, and
sophomore third baseman Jeff Stone each
singled to start the inning to load the
bases with no outs. Dickerson followed with
a fly ball to shallow center that Roberts
tagged up and scored on as Dickerson was
credited with a sacrifice fly and an RBI to
give the Cougars a 4-3 lead.
That
lead would hold up as Mount Marty was
retired in order in the bottom of the eighth
inning as MVNU won its second straight game.
Senior right-hander Kyle Barr started
for MVNU and got a no-decision. He worked
6.1 innings and scattered five hits, three
walks, and three runs while striking out
seven batters. Senior right-hander Jeff
Estep (1-0) notched the win in relief as he
allowed just one hit and one walk over 1.2
innings with two strikeouts.
Cassidy
Darlington started and worked six innings
for the Lancers as he gave up eight hits,
one walk, and two runs with one strikeout.
Jason Schmidt allowed two hits, two walks,
and one run over one inning with one
strikeout, and Josh Homme (0-1) took the
loss as he surrendered three hits and one
run over one inning.
Fleming,
Roberts, Dickerson, and Harpst each had two
hits to pace MVNU, while Nathan Roche
collected two hits and Zac Hollenback drove
in two runs for Mount Marty.
"I
thought Kyle was outstanding today," said
MVNU coach Keith Veale. "He was really in
control of things through the first four
innings. In the fifth, (Mount Marty) got a
leadoff base hit, a couple of walks, and a
couple of hits that were not struck hard but
found holes and we found ourselves behind,
which I think sort of shocked us. I like the
way we responded in the seventh and eighth
innings. We really should have done more
damage in both innings, but we left the
bases loaded and that kept things
interesting. I thought Jeff (Estep) really
gave us a couple of solid relief innings to
give us a chance."
The second game
was a pitcher's duel between MVNU senior
right-hander Jerrob Decker (2-1) and the
Lancers' Josh Engquist. The Cougars scored
the only run of the first five innings in
the bottom of the second inning when Stone
doubled down the rightfield line with one
out and Dickerson followed with a ground
rule double off the warning track in deep
centerfield to give MVNU the 1-0 lead.
The score remained that way until the
bottom of the sixth inning when with two
outs the Cougars strung together four
straight hits to take on two insurance runs
for a 3-0 advantage. Stone and Kane both had
an RBI single in the frame.
The
Lancers threatened to cut into the lead in
the top of the seventh inning with a pair of
singles, but Eller was able to close the
door for his first career save as the
Cougars prevailed 3-0.
Decker picked
up the victory for MVNU as he worked
five-plus innings and allowed only two hits
and three runs with four strikeouts. Eller
tossed the final two innings to close out
the game as he gave up just two hits and
struck out two batters.
Engquist
(1-1) took the loss for Mount Marty as he
allowed eight hits and three runs over six
innings with one strikeout.
Dickerson
paced the Cougars by going 3-for-3, while
Eller and Stone each had two hits with all
three batters registering one double. The
Lancers managed just four singles in the
game.
"The second game was really a
pitcher's duel," said Veale. "Their pitcher
did a great job mixing pitches and keeping
us off balance. We really didn't generate
anything except for the back-to-back doubles
in the second inning. The sixth inning
started with a couple of ground outs, and it
looked like we would go quietly again. Being
able to generate offense with two outs is a
positive sign for our club. Seth came in and
got us through the last couple innings when
we really needed it. The two runs in the
sixth inning were huge."
"This was a
very nice start to our trip," Veale added.
"We played two competitive games and came
out on top. We got solid pitching from our
starters and the bullpen. Underneath the
results and the foundation for the day was
our defense. We played error-free baseball
and made two or three outstanding plays."
The Cougars will return to action on
Tuesday with a day-night doubleheader. The
team will square off with Valley Forge
Christian (Pa.) College at 1 p.m. at
Southeastern (Fla.) University and then
travel to Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale for
a 6 p.m. game against Wayne State (Mich.)
University (8-4).
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