Baseball Splits Home Friday Doubleheader Against William Penn

Marshall, Mo., (March 21, 2025)-  The Missouri Valley College baseball played its first games at home this season, opening a Heart of America Athletic Conference series against William Penn (Iowa).  The Vikings fell in the opener, 13-4, but rallied in an extra-inning, walk-off win in the second game, 8-7.

Game one of the doubleheader opened with Senior Pitcher Caleb Bergman (Alma, Mo.) working around a one-out walk in the top of the first inning to strand the runner on-base.  The bottom half of the inning featured a two-out homer from Junior Designated Hitter Tanner Duncan (Kennett, Mo.) to send Missouri Valley in front, 1-0.  Bergman worked through the WPU lineup in order in the top of the second inning, and MVC held its 1-0 advantage going into the third.  The Statesmen rallied in the top half of the third inning, using four hits and one error to produce five runs to go on top, 5-1.  The Vikings got two of those runs back in the bottom half, on a two-run home run from Freshman Shortstop Sota Suzuki,(Aichi, Japan) as the gap shrunk to 5-3.  William Penn rallied again in the fourth, producing six runs on four hits and one MVC error to put the score at 11-3.  After scoreless fifth and sixth innings, WPU tacked on another pair of runs in the top of the seventh.  Junior Centerfielder Mason Mitchell (Littleton, Colo.) added a sac-fly, to bring home Duncan, in the bottom of the seventh, but Missouri Valley fell, 13-4.

Duncan led with three hits, two runs and one RBI.  Suzuki had one hit, one run and two RBIs, and Mitchell added one hit and one RBI.  Bergman went three innings, giving up four hits and five earned runs with one strikeout.

Missouri Valley went in front early in the second game, as Mitchell opened the bottom of the first inning with a single, and was brought home on a two-run homer from Duncan to make it a 2-0 score.  Junior Pitcher Caleb Monnig (Liberty, Mo.) worked around a leadoff walk to face the minimum in the top of the second inning.  William Penn produced from the plate in the third inning, using three hits and a three-run home run to move ahead, 3-2.  The Statesmen added to their lead in the fourth, as a sac-fly put MVC in a 4-2 deficit.  The Vikings responded in the bottom half of the inning, as Senior Third Baseman Conner Bell (San Diego, Calif.) singled, followed by a single from Junior Rightfielder Pablo Arnaud (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic).  Bell was driven home on a single from Suzuki, and Freshman Second Baseman Rui Watanabe (Nagasaki, Japan) put down a sac-bunt to bring home Arnaud and tie the teams at 4-4.  The top of the fifth featured WPU moving back in front, scoring one run on a wild pitch, but Sophomore Pitcher Jed Garner (Advance, Mo.) got out of a bases-loaded situation, stranding three runners on-base to keep it a 5-4 score.  Missouri Valley came back to tie the contest once again, as a grounder from Arnaud allowed Mitchell to reach home safely, and make it 5-5.  After scoreless sixth inning appearances, William Penn had a chance to move in front in the top of the seventh, but a double-play started by Bell helped end the threat. The Vikings could not produce the winning run in the bottom half, and the game went to extra-innings.

The Statesman took control in the top half of the eighth, using a two-run homer to go back on top, 7-5.  An error to open the bottom half of the inning allowed Bell to reach safely, while Arnaud singled to move Bell to third.  Suzuki brought home Bell on a sac-fly to cut the deficit down to one run.  With two outs, Senior Leftfielder Dale Bratz (Carstairs, Alberta) knocked a double into right field, and Arnaud scored to tie the game.  After a balk sent Bratz to third, Senior First Baseman Joe Hedger (Logan, Iowa) singled, and Bratz came home for the winning run, as the Vikings earned an 8-7 walk-off win.

Mitchell, Bell and Arnaud had two hits and two runs scored each, while Bratz finished with two hits, one run and one RBI.  Suzuki added one hit and two RBIs, with Duncan producing one hit, one run and two RBIs.  The win went to Senior Pitcher Body Ellis (Kennett, Mo.), who pitched the final 2.2 innings, giving up one hit and two earned runs.

Missouri Valley moves to 9-13 on the season and 5-5 in the Heart.  William Penn drops to 11-11 overall and 5-5.

Up next, the Viking baseball team will finish its series against William Penn with a doubleheader, Saturday at 1 p.m., at Indian Foothills Park.

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.