Baseball Falls in Road Contest at Columbia

Columbia, Mo., (March 18, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College baseball team traveled to Columbia, Mo., for a non-conference game against Columbia (Mo.), Tuesday evening, suffering a loss.

The game opened with Columbia going in front, using two hits and one MVC error to score one run and take a 1-0 lead.  Missouri Valley followed with production from the plate in the top of the second inning.  Freshman Catcher Jaozef Del Rosario (Toronto, Ontario) worked a two-out walk, and Senior First Baseman Brandon Walker (Kansas City, Kan.) followed with a two-run homer.  Senior Leftfielder Dale Bratz (Carstairs, Alberta) added a triple, but was left stranded as the Vikings held a 2-1 advantage.  The Cougars rallied in the bottom half of the inning, scoring six runs on four hits and one error to move back on top, 7-2.  Missouri Valley responded in the top of the third, as Junior Rightfielder Pablo Arnaud (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) led off with a single, and Junior Designated Hitter Carter Kalin (Superior, Wisc.) was hit by a pitch.  Junior Centerfielder Mason Mitchell (Littleton, Colo.) singled to score Arnaud, and a Freshman Shortstop Sota Suzuki (Aichi, Hawaii) grounder drove home Kalin, as MVC cut its deficit down to 7-4.  Columbia added one run in the bottom of the third, on a solo homer, then put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fourth, producing 10 runs on nine hits.  The Vikings were unable to work back into the game, producing only one more run, coming in the top of the seventh inning, on a Freshman Pinch Hitter Brennan Nickerson (St. Louis, Mo.) RBI-single.  Missouri Valley fell by a final score of 18-5.

Walker had two hits, one run and two RBIs, while Spear added two hits.  Arnaud had one hit and two runs scored, while both Nickerson and Mitchell had one hit and one RBi apiece.  

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 8-12, while Columbia improves to 18-5.

Up next, the Viking baseball team will host William Penn (Iowa) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference series.  The series was moved up one day, due to weather concerns, and will begin with a Friday 1 p.m., doubleheader, followed by a Saturday doubleheader, starting 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.