Pride Sweep Doubleheader With Mount Marty

OMAHA, Neb. – The Clarke University baseball team won both games of a doubleheader on Saturday against Mount Marty. In the first game, Tyson Tucker threw a gem with 15 strikeouts and only allowed four hits en route to a 6-3 victory. The second game saw the Pride score three runs in the first two innings in a 4-1 win over the Lancers.

Tucker's 15 strikeouts are the most by a member of the Pride this season and improved the right-handed pitcher to a 2-1 record this year as a starter.

The first game of the day saw the Pride take an early 2-0 lead after Victor Lara recorded a two RBI single, which scored Noah Hoepfner and Taiga Sato. The Lancers (5-2) tied things up at the top of the third by way of a two-run home run.

Clarke regained its lead after Johnny Blake recorded a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, bringing Sato across home plate. The Pride added on an additional run in the inning after Bubba Thompson brought home Maguire Fitzgerald with an RBI double.

The Pride added two insurance runs in the sixth inning, one by way of a sac fly by Bailin Markridge that scored Andrew Swartz and the other from a home run by Thompson. Mount Marty scored one run in the seventh but couldn't overcome deficit before falling 6-3.

The second game saw Sato kick things off with an RBI groundout to third, scoring Lara. Thompson's efficient day continued after the sophomore out of Hortonville, Wis., ripped off a two RBI triple, scoring Lara and Blake in the second inning to push the Clarke lead to 3-0.

The Lancers got on the board in the sixth inning after a passed ball scored a runner from third, which trimmed the deficit to two. Blake extended the CU lead to three at the top of the seventh after recording his first home run of the season. Isaac Rohde struck out two batters in the bottom of the seventh to close out the game for the Pride.

Up next, the Pride will take on Morningside (11 a.m. CT) and Dakota State (2 p.m.) in doubleheader action tomorrow.