No-Hitter Helps Baseball to Sweep At St. Mary

Leavenworth, Kan., (Feb. 2, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College baseball team opened its 2024 season with a road non-conference doubleheader at St. Mary (Kan.) in Leavenworth, Kan., Friday afternoon.  A no-hitter in game one helped the team to a 2-0 victory, followed by an 8-2 win to sweep the doubleheader.

Game one started with Missouri Valley threatening in the top of the first inning as Freshman Leftfielder Mason Baer (Roselle, Ill.) led off reaching after being hit, and Junior Third Baseman Jayden Mah (Nanaimo, British Columbia) worked a walk.  However, a double-play ended the scoring chance as the Vikings were kept from bringing a runner home.  Senior Pitcher Dieterich Guertzgen (De Soto, Mo.) struck out one batter to face the minimum in the bottom half of the inning.  Guertzgen struck out another batter in the second inning, and worked around a two-out hit-by-pitch in the bottom of the third inning, as Junior Catcher Connor Bell (San Diego, Calif.) threw out the base runner trying to steal second base to end the at-bat for the Spires.  Missouri Valley put runners on-base in the top of the fourth as Senior Centerfielder Ivory Daniels (Little Rock, Ark.) reached on a double, and eventually advanced to third on a wild pitch.  Freshman Designated Hitter Marlon Bravo, Jr. (Miami, Fla.) was hit and Senior Shortstop Josias Mogollon (Bloomfield, Iowa) walked to load the bases, but the three runners were left stranded.  Guertzgen followed by ending the bottom of the fourth with a strikeout to leave one St. Mary runner on-base.

The Vikings put runners on-base in the fifth, as Bell led off with a single, while Mah walked, but two runners were stranded as the teams stayed scoreless.  Guertzgen faced the minimum once again in the bottom of the fifth, striking out another batter.  The top of the sixth featured a leadoff single from Junior Rightfielder Hiroto Kobayashi (Saitama, Japan), but a double-play followed to put two outs on the board.  Mogollon broke the scoreless tie with a solo homer to left field to make it 1-0.  The Spires used a walk and a stolen base to put the tying run in scoring position with one out. Guertzgen followed with a strikeout and a groundout to maintain the one-run lead.  The top of the seventh featured Baer reaching on a fielder's choice, while Mah brought the runner home with a double to increase the advantage to 2-0.  St. Mary used a two-out walk to bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Guertzgen ended the game with a strikeout, preserving his no-hitter and the 2-0 win for Missouri Valley.

Mogollon finished with one hit, one run scored and one RBI with his solo homer.  Mah had one hit and one RBI.  Guertzgen pitched a no-hitter, striking out eight batters.  This is the first no-hitter for Missouri Valley of Head Coach TJ Marik's tenure.

Game two started with early production from the plate in the top of the first inning for Missouri Valley as Daniels singled and Baer walked.  Daniels came home on a Mah double, while both Baer and Mah came home on a Kobayashi double to give the team a 3-0 lead.  St. Mary answered in the bottom of the first inning, using one hit and one error to cut its deficit to 3-1.  Baer got the start pitching and worked around a leadoff double in the bottom of the second inning to strand one runner and keep USM from closing the gap.  The Vikings increased the advantage in the third inning, as Kobayashi singled and stole second base, then came home on a Junior Rightfielder Luke Stoner (Rockford, Ill.) double.  Mogollon worked a walk, while a Junior First Baseman Joe Hedger (Loga, Iowa) double scored the two runners to push the advantage out to 6-1.  Baer followed with two strikeouts in the bottom of the third, then struck out one batter to end the fourth inning.

The top of the fifth featured more offense for MVC, as Mogollon walked and stole both second and third bases.  He came home on a Bell ground to make it a 7-1 score.  The Spires got one of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth on a sac-fly to shrink the gap down to 7-2.  The Vikings tacked on another run in the sixth.  Daniels led off with a single, while Sophomore Pinch Hitter Luke Brooks (Hastings, Neb.) walked.  Mah doubled to bring home Daniels and make it an 8-2 lead.  St. Mary was taken down in order in the sixth, then Brooks finished the game with two strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh to end game two with an 8-2 victory and the doubleheader sweep.

Mah led with three hits, one run and two RBI's.  Daniels had two hits and two runs scored, while Kobayashi totaled two hits, one run and two RBI's.  Stoner ended with one hit, one run and one RBI, while Hedger had one hit and two RBI's.  Baer pitched 4.1 innings, giving up three hits and no earned runs with three strikeouts to pick up the win.

The pair of wins move Missouri Valley to 2-0, while St. Mary falls to 0-2 on the season.

Up next, the two teams will finish their series with another doubleheader, Saturday beginning at 12 p.m., in Leavenworth, Kan.

Game 1 Box Score-Click Here

Game 2 Box Score-Click Here

Game-ending strikeout to finish the no-hitter for Dieterich Guertzgen

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.