Baseball Splits Sunday Doubleheader on the Road

Leavenworth, Kan., (March 9, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College baseball finished its weekend with a doubleheader in Leavenworth, Kan., Sunday afternoon.  The Vikings won a high-scoring game against Briar Cliff, 11-9, but fell to St. Mary (Kan.), 12-5.

Missouri Valley went out in front early in the Briar Cliff game, putting together a long rally in the bottom of the first inning.  Senior Third Baseman Conner Bell (San Diego, Calif.) singled and Junior Designated Hitter Tanner Duncan (Kennet, Mo.) was hit by a pitch.  Bell scored on a double from Junior Catcher Carter Kalin (Superior, Wisc.), and Duncan reached home safely on a grounder from Senior First Baseman Joe Hedger (Logan, Iowa).  Junior Centerfielder Mason Mitchell (Littleton, Colo.) followed with a single to score Kalin, and Freshman Second Baseman Rui Watanabe (Nagasaki, Japan) belted a triple that allowed Mitchell to reach home.  Later in the at-bat, Senior Rightfielder Dale Bratz (Carstairs, Alberta) brought home Watanabe with a single, and MVC sat on top, 5-0.  Briar Cliff got two of those runs back in the top of the second inning, to cut its deficit down to 5-2.  The Vikings responded in the bottom of the inning, as Bell doubled, then scored on a Duncan single.  Later in the inning, Mitchell brought home two runs with a double, then Mitchell reached home safely after a BCU error and Missouri Valley pushed its lead out to 9-2.

Briar Cliff took control of the game over the next stretch of play, scoring three runs in both the third and fourth innings, then tacked on another run in the fifth to tie the teams at 9-9.  Missouri Valley was held scoreless through the bottom of the fifth inning.  Junior Pitcher Jack Corriveau (Kalispell, Mont.) took down Briar Cliff in order in the top of the sixth, striking out one batter.  The Vikings followed with two-out production from the plate.  Mitchell singled to score Duncan, and Junior Pinch Hitter Pablo Arnaud (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) added a run-scoring single, allowing Junior Pinch Runner Spencer Searcey (Denver, Colo.) to reach home and send MVC in front once again, 11-9.  Briar Cliff threatened in the top of the seventh, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs, but Corriveau got out of the jam, and secured the 11-9 win.

Mitchel finished with three hits, two runs and four RBI's, while Duncan had three hits, three runs scored and one RBI.  Kalin totaled three hits, one run and one RBI, while Bell added two hits and two runs scored.  Corriveau picked up the win, going 2.1 innings in relief, giving up one hit and no earned runs with three strikeouts.

Game two of the day featured Missouri Valley again going in front at the start, as Bell singled, stole second base and eventually came home on a wild pitch to make it a 1-0 score.  St. Mary responded by using three hits to produce two runs and claim a 2-1 lead.  The Vikings rallied in the top of the second inning, as Junior Leftfielder Shumpei Kaneko (Saitama, Japan) brought home one run with a double, Bratz singled to score Searcey and Mitchell hit a grounder that brought home Kaneko and put MVC back on top, 4-2.  Senior Pitcher Caleb Bergman (Alma, Mo.) faced the minimum in the bottom half of the inning, using a double-play grounder hit to Freshman Shortstop Sota Suzuki (Aichi, Japan) to end the USM at-bat.  The Spires began to chip away at its deficit in the bottom of the third, scoring one run, then going in front with two runs in the fourth, making it a 5-4 game.  St. Mary continued to rally in the bottom of the fifth, using four hits and two hit batters to eventually bring home six runners and put the Vikings in a 11-4 deficit.  The Spires added one more run in the sixth, and Missouri Valley produced one more run in the top of the seventh before falling by a final score of 12-5.

Bell had two hits and one run, while Bratz added two hits.  Kaneko had one hit, one run and one RBI.  

Missouri Valley moved to 8-7 on the season after today's game.

Up next, the Vikings will travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and return to play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with a road series against Mount Mercy (Iowa).  The first doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by a Sunday doubleheader at 1 p.m.

Briar Cliff Box Score-Click Here

St. Mary 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.