Baseball Drops Pair of Games at Grand View

Des Moines, Iowa, (March 30, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College baseball team finished a weekend series in Des Moines, Iowa, against Grand View (Iowa), Saturday afternoon.  The Vikings led early in both games, but fell in the two contests by scores of 6-1 and 12-7.

Missouri Valley produced early form the plate in the top of the first inning, as Senior Shortstop Josias Mogollon (Bloomfield, Iowa) reached to lead off on an error, and Senior Centerfielder Ivory Daniels (Little Rock, Ark.) singled.  The pair were moved up on a sac-bunt, and Freshman Leftfielder Mason Baer (Roselle, Ill.) drove Mogollon home on a sac-fly to put MVC ahead, 1-0.  Grand View responded in the bottom half of the inning, using two hits and one error to produce two runs and move in front, 2-1.  Senior Pitcher Dieterich Guertzgen (De Soto, Mo.) stranded two base runners in the inning by striking out the final two batters.  Both teams were taken down in order in the second inning, as Guertzgen struck out one in the bottom half.  After a scoreless top of the third, GVU added to its lead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning.  Missouri Valley produced only one base runner in the next two innings, and Grand View tacked on another two runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 6-1 score.  The top of the sixth started with Mogollon being hit by a pitch, but the team could not create a rally late in the game, and fell by a final score of 6-1.

Daniels and Junior Second Baseman Dale Bratz (Carstairs, Alberta) each had one hit in the game, and Mogollon scored the one run.  Guertzgen pitched six innings, giving up six hits with six earned runs and six strikeouts.

Game two began with a big first inning for Missouri Valley as Daniels was hit to start things off, while Baer singled.  The two were moved into scoring position on a sac-bunt, and both came home on a Junior First Baseman Luke Stoner (Rockford, Ill.) single.  Later in the at-bat, Senior Shortstop Ty Ellis (Kennett, Mo.) doubled to score Stoner and MVC led, 3-0.  Sophomore Pitcher Mason Fenwick (Mississauga, Ontario), kept Grand View from producing a rally in the bottom of the inning, helped on a double-play started by Stoner at first base with a line-out.  The Missouri Valley advantage was cut into by Grand View in the bottom of the second inning, on a sac-fly, but Fenwick got out of the inning without another base runner, and MVC stayed on top, 3-1.  Grand View added another pair of runs in the bottom of the third, using two hits and one error, to tie the teams at 3-3.  Missouri Valley came back to load the bases in the top of the fourth, as three batters were all hit by pitches, but the inning ended with all three runners stranded.  A long bottom half of the inning followed, as GVU scored seven runs, on eight hits, to pull ahead, 10-3.

Missouri Valley produced one single each from Junior Catcher Connor Bell (San Diego, Calif.) and Ellis in the fifth inning, but could not cut into the deficit.  Another two runs were scored by Grand View in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead out to 12-3.  Junior Designated Hitter Joe Hedger (Logan, Iowa) got on-base for MVC in the top of the sixth, with a one-out single, followed by a walk earned from Daniels.  Later in the inning, Junior Catcher Evan Weavel (Rockford, Ill.) was hit to load the bases, and Stoner drove in Hedger and Daniels on a single. A wild pitch allowed Stoner and Weavel to both sit in scoring position, but the pair were left stranded, as the score sat at 12-5.  Missouri Valley added another two runs in the seventh inning, on a two-run single from Daniels, but the team fell by a final score of 12-7.

Stoner led with two hits, one run scored and four RBI's, while Ellis had two hits, one run and one RBI.  Baer finished with two hits and one run, and Daniels had one hit, two runs and two RBI's.  The loss went to Fenwick, who pitched 3.2 innings, giving up five hits and four earned runs.

The pair of losses drop Missouri Valley to 12-19 overall and 2-14 in the Heart.  Grand View improves to 16-11 on the season and 7-7 in the conference.

Up next, Missouri Valley is scheduled to play a non-conference, 9-inning game, in Columbia, Mo., against Columbia (Mo.), Tuesday at 2 p.m.

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.