Baseball Suffers Pair of Losses at Clarke

Both teams were held scoreless in the first inning of game one, which included one strikeout from Sophomore Pitcher Kotaro Uchida (Chichibu, Japan) in the bottom half of the inning.  Freshman Designated Hitter Luke Brooks (Hastings, Neb.) singled in the second, and Senior Rightfielder Kyle Weber (Marshall, Mo.) reached on a grounder, but the rally attempt ended on a double play to keep MVC from moving a runner home.  Clarke came back with one run in the bottom of the second to score two runs and go on top, 2-0.  Uchida worked around a one-out triple in the third, ending the Pride at-bat on a double play started by Sophomore Third Baseman Jumpei Ohashi (Asahikawa, Japan).  Missouri Valley rallied in the fourth, as Ohashi doubled, and Brooks knocked out a two-run homer.  Sophomore First Baseman Luke Stoner (Rockford, Ill.) singled in the at-bat, but was left stranded as MVC tied the teams at 2-2.  The Pride followed with offense in the bottom of the fourth, which included a double, sac-bunt and a single to produce one run and move the team in front again, 3-2.  After the Vikings were taken down in order in the top of the fifth, CU tacked on another run in the bottom half, giving the team a 4-2 advantage.  Missouri Valley was unable to produce a base runner in the sixth, and tried to rally late in the seventh.  Stoner was hit to open the team's final at-bat, but a fielder's choice grounder from Weber got the lead runner out.  Missouri Valley had the tying run at the plate throughout the rest of the inning, but could not cut into the deficit and fell, 4-2.

Brooks led with two hits, one run and two RBI's with his two-run home run.  Ohashi had one hit and one run scored, while Stoner added one hit.  Uchida picked up the loss, going six innings with seven hits and three earned runs to go with four strikeouts.

Missouri Valley went in front at the start of the second game, as Ohashi belted a two-out, solo homer in the top of the first inning.  Sophomore Designated Hitter Jayden Mah (Nanaimo, British Columbia) and Stoner both followed with singles during the at-bat, but MVC left two runners on-base.  Sophomore Pitcher Cole Deardoff (Kouts, Ind.) faced the minimum in the bottom of the first, then worked around a walk and a single in the second inning, striking out a pair to keep CU scoreless.  Mah came through with a two-out double in the top of the third, but could not advance any further.  The Pride rallied in the bottom half, scoring four runs to go on top, 4-1.  The fourth inning featured another five runs scored.  Clarke added another pair of runs in the sixth, and the Vikings were unable to cut into their deficit late in the game.  Missouri Valley fell by a final score of 11-1.

Mah and Junior Shortstop Josias Mogollon (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) each had two hits.  Ohashi had one hit, one run and one RBI.  Deardoff picked up the loss, going 3.1 innings with four hits, two earned runs and three strikeouts.

The pair of losses drop Missouri Valley to 10-21 overall and 6-12 in the Heart.  Clarke improves to 17-11 on the season and 10-5 in the conference.

Up next, the same two teams will play another doubleheader, Saturday at 1 p.m., in Dubuque, Iowa.

Game 1 Box Score-Click Here

Game 2 Box Score-Click Here

About Missouri Valley College

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.