Baseball Drops Two Close Games at St. Mary

Leavenworth, Kan., (Feb. 3, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College baseball team finished a non-conference series on the road in Leavenworth, Kan., against St. Mary (Kan.), Saturday afternoon.  The Vikings lost a low-scoring opener, 3-1, and fell in the second game, 8-7.

Missouri Valley got out in front early in the first game, as Freshman Leftfielder Mason Baer (Roselle, Ill.) walked and Junior Third Baseman Jayden Mah (Nanaimo, British Columbia) singled.  The pair advanced into scoring position after each stealing one base, and Baer came one on a one-out groundout from Junior Rightfielder Hiroto Kobayashi (Saitama, Japan) to give the team a 1-0 advantage.  Sophomore Pitcher Mason Fenwick (Mississauga, Ontario) worked around a leadoff walk with an inning-ending double-play, started by Junior Second Baseman Ruben Fernandez (Madrid, Spain).  Fenwick kept St. Mary scoreless in the second inning, striking out the side.  The Vikings threatened in the third, as Senior Centerfielder Ivory Daniels (Little Rock, Ark.) walked and stole second base.  Mah worked a walk with two outs, but the two runners were left stranded.  The Spires manufactured the tying run in the bottom half of the third, using a sac-fly to make it a 1-1 score.

Missouri Valley put two runners on-base in the fourth, as Senior Shortstop Josias Mogollon (Bloomfield, Iowa) singled and Junior First Baseman Joe Hedger (Logan, Iowa) walked, then again in the firth, as Daniels singled and Kobayashi walked, but MVC could not bring home any of the runners in both innings.  St. Mary responded in the bottom of the fifth, using one hit, two walks and one MVC error to produce two runs and go on top, 3-1.  Missouri Valley was taken down in order in the sixth, but had the tying run at the plate with two outs in the seventh.  However, the Vikings were unable to create late in the game, and fell, 3-1.

Daniels, Mah and Mogollon each totaled one hit, while Baer scored the lone run, and Kobayashi finished with one RBI.  Fenwick went three innings, giving up one hit and one earned run with three strikeouts.  The loss went to Jadon Moore, with one inning, one hit and two earned runs.

The two teams stranded base runners in each of the first two innings, as Daniels reached on a fielder's choice in the first inning, and eventually reached third base, and Mogollon singled in the second inning, also reaching third base, but neither were able to cross home plate.  Senior Pitcher Ty Ellis (Kennett, Mo.) got out of the first and second innings with double-plays, both started by Mogollon, to strand one base runner in each at-bat.  St. Mary put together some offensive production in the bottom of the third, using two hits, one error and two walks to score four runs and hold a 4-0 advantage.  The Vikings followed with a rally in the top of the fourth, which started on a Kobayashi leadoff walk.  Freshman Designated Hitter Marlon Bravo, Jr. (Miami, Fla.), doubled to score Kobayashi, who then came home on a Mogollon triple.  Junior First Baseman Austyn Andrachick (Kalispell, Mont.) drove home Mogollon on a second-straight triple, and Andrachick came home later in the at-bat to tie the teams at 4-4.  The Spires responded in the bottom half or the inning to score two runs, but Junior Pitcher Cole Deardorff (Kouts, Ind.) came in as relief and struck out the first two batters he faced to strand two runners on-base.

After a scoreless fifth inning, Missouri Valley worked back again in the sixth as Junior Second Baseman Dale Bratz (Carstairs, Alberta) doubled to score Andrachick and a Baer grounder resulted in a USM error that allowed Junior Catcher Evan Weavel (Rockford, Ill.) to come home.  The pair of runs brought the game into another tie, this time at 6-6.  St. Mary worked back with a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth to move in front once again, 7-6.  The top of the seventh featured three walks earned by Viking batters, loading the bases with one out.  Sophomore Pinch Hitter Luke Brooks (Hastings, Neb.) singled to score Mah, and the teams were tied once again, at 7-7.  The Spires responded in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with three batters being hit by pitches.  A one-out single brought home the winning run, and Missouri Valley fell, 8-7.

Andrachick led with two hits, two runs scored and one RBI.  Mogollon added two hits, one run and one RBI.  Bravo, Jr., added one hit, one run and one RBI, while Brooks had one hit and one RBI.  The loss went to Cole Deardorff, who pitched three innings in relief, giving up two hits, and one earned run with three strikeouts.

The pair of losses drop Missouri Valley to 2-2 on the season, while St. Mary moves to 2-2.  The Vikings swept the Friday doubleheader between the two teams, by scores of 2-0 and 8-2.  Friday's first game featured a no-hitter by Senior Pitcher Dieterich Guertzgen (De Soto, Mo.).

Up next, the Viking baseball team plays games at Homefield Baseball Complex in Parkville, Mo., Feb. 24-25.  The first game will be Feb. 24 at 12:30 p.m., against Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.).

 
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.