Baseball Splits Road Doubleheader at Ottawa

Ottawa, Kan., (Feb. 25, 2025)-  The Missouri Valley College baseball team traveled to Ottawa, Kan., for a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday afternoon against Ottawa (Kan.).  The Vikings split the doubleheader, taking the first game, 8-6.

Missouri Valley went in front early, producing from the plate in the top of the first inning.  Junior Leftfielder Shumpei Kaneko (Saitama, Japan) led off with a walk, and Senior First Baseman Joe Hedger (Logan, Iowa) was hit to put a pair of runners on-base with one out.  Junior Centerfielder Mason Mitchell (Littleton, Colo.) brought home Kaneko with a double, and Junior Rightfielder Pablo Arnaud (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) drove home Hedger with a sac-fly to put the team on top, 2-0.  Senior Pitcher Caleb Bergman (Alma, Mo.) worked around a two-out walk to end the bottom of the first inning with a strikeout to keep Ottawa scoreless.  The Vikings added another pair of runs in the second inning.  With two outs, Freshman Catcher Jaozef Del Rosario (Toronto, Ontario) walked and Kaneko singled.  The two runners came home on a Senior Third Baseman Connor Bell (San Diego, Calif.) double, and the advantage grew to 4-0.  The Braves nearly got one of those runs back, putting a pair of runners on-base with one out.  A grounder was hit to Bell at third, who threw out one of the runners trying to score on the play.  Bergman struck out the next batter, and the lead stayed at 4-0. 

The two teams went scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when OU cut its deficit down to 4-2.  Missouri Valley responded in the top of the fifth, as Arnaud worked another sac-fly, this time scoring Junior Pinch Runner Jacob Spear (Oakwood, Ill.), to put the advantage at 5-2.  Sophomore Pitcher Jed Garner (Advance, Mo.) took the mound in the bottom half of the inning, and struck out two batters, taking down Ottawa in order.  The Vikings tacked on another two runs in the top of the sixth.  Junior Pinch Runner Spencer Searcey (Denver, Colo.) scored on a wild pitch, and a bases-loaded walk earned by Mitchell allowed Senior Pinch Runner Dale Bratz (Carstairs, Alberta) to score and make it a 7-2 game.  Ottawa threatened in the bottom half of the sixth, but Freshman Pitcher Isaac Nieters (Hughesville, Mo.) got out of the jam on a fly-out to Arnaud, stranding two runners on-base.  Missouri Valley took advantage of a two-out error committed by OU in the top of the seventh inning, which allowed Senior Designated Hitter Austyn Andrachic (Kalispell, Mont.) to score.  The Braves looked to rally in the bottom half, and used three hits and one walk to score four runs.  With the winning run at the plate, Sophomore Pitcher Trey Brakensiek (Wright City, Mo.) induced a grounder to third to end the game, and secure an 8-6 win.

Bell led with two hits and two RBI's, while Kaneko added one hit and two runs scored.  Mitchell finished with one hit and two RBI's.  Both Hedger and Del Rosario added one hit and one run each.  Bergman picked up the win, going four innings with four hits, two earned runs and four strikeouts.

The Vikings fell in game two of the doubleheader, 18-4.  Junior Designated Hitter Tanner Duncan (Kennett, Mo.) had one hit and two RBI's, while Senior Pinch Hitter Colton Campbell (Aledo, Texas) had one hit, one run scored and one RBI.  Bratz added one hit and one run, while Kaneko finished with one hit and one RBI.

Missouri Valley moves to 1-5 on the season, while Ottawa sits at 13-3.

Up next, the Viking baseball team will play Benedictine (Kan.) in a four-game series to open play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.  The games will be moved to Atchison, Kan., with the series starting Saturday, at 12 p.m., with a doubleheader.  Sunday's doubleheader will start at 12 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.