Baseball Tops Central Christian at Home

Marshall, Mo., (March 19, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College baseball team hosted Central Christian (Kan.) in a non-conference game Tuesday afternoon at Indian Foothills Park.  The Vikings built an early lead and earned a 14-4 victory.

The game opened with Senior Pitcher Dieterich Guertzgen (De Soto, Mo.) working around a leadoff single to strand the baserunner, striking out one batter in the top of the first.  The bottom of the inning started with a single from Senior Centerfielder Ivory Daniels (Little Rock, Ark.) followed by a two-run homer from Junior Designated Hitter Hiroto Kobayashi (Saitama, Japan).  Senior Shortstop Josias Mogollon (Bloomfield, Iowa) singled, while two-straight walks loaded the bases.  Mogollon scored on a passed ball.  Two more walks allowed Junior Third Baseman Jayden Mah (Nanaimo, British Columbia) to reach home safely.  Sophomore Catcher Masayoshi Hattori (Tokyo, Japan) singled to bring home Freshman Leftfielder Mason Baer (Roselle, Ill.), and the rally finished out with a fielder's choice grounder by Daniels allowing Junior Second Baseman Ruben Fernadez (Madrid, Spain) to score and put the lead at 6-0.  Central Christian got two of those runs back in the top of the second inning, in a two-run homer.  The Vikings responded with another long at-bat in the bottom half of the inning.  Mah, Baer and Junior First Baseman Joe Hedger (Logan, Iowa) each drew a walk to load the bases, while Hattori induced another walk to score Mah.  A fifth-straight walk, earned by Junior Rightfielder Dale Bratz (Carstairs, Alberta) allowed Baer to reach home.  Daniels then scored two more runners with another hit to put the advantage at 10-2.

Central Christian loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the third, but a fielder's choice grounder resulted in the runner at third thrown out at home.  Junior Pitcher Bobby Eillis (Kennett, Mo.) then induced a double-play to end the at-bat without surrendering any runs.  The top of the fourth featured CCC loading the bases with two outs, but Ellis got out of the jam again, stranding all three runners on-base.  Missouri Valley was held scoreless in the fourth inning, and Central Christian added one run in the fifth to make it a 10-3 score.  After a scoreless sixth inning, Central Christian worked another run in the seventh, but Senior Pitcher Micah Copeland (Buckner, Mo.) ended the at-bat with a strikeout.  The Vikings rallied again in the bottom half of the inning as a Mah single scored Mogollon.  Later, Fernandez brought home a pair of runners with a double and a bases-loaded walk from Junior Pinch Hitter Luke Stoner  (Rockford, Ill.) brought home a fourth run in the inning, and secured a 14-4 victory.

Daniels led with three hits, one run and three RBI's, while Mogollong finished with two hits and two runs scored.  Kobayashi had one hit, one run and two RBI's, while Mah added one hit, three runs and one RBI.  Baer finished with one hit and one RBI, and Fernandez had one hit, one run and three RBI's.

Missouri Valley improves to 10-13 on the season and Central Christian drops to 7-21.

Up next, the Viking baseball team travels to Madison, South Dakota for a non-conference series against Dakota State (S.D.).  The series opens with a doubleheader, Friday at 1 p.m.

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.