Pride can't overcome early Pioneer leads in series opening losses
PEOSTA, Iowa - Returning to their home field for the first time since March, the Clarke University baseball team were unable to produce comeback rallies against No. 17 MidAmerican Nazarene University on Friday afternoon into Friday evening at A.J. Spiegel Park.
The Pioneers scored first inning runs in each game on their way to a 4-1 win in the opener and a 6-2 win to sweep the finale to prevent the Pride from earning at least one win in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader for the frist time this season.
In game one, a first inning solo home run from shortstop Brycen Sherwood got MNU on the board as he was able to barely keep his long ball to right field fair on a day where heavy winds, averaging around 20 MPH and some gusts nearing 40 MPG, pushed most balls in the air significantly from the left side of the field to the right side.
Following a strikeout to start the top of the second, the next five hitters would reach base with a hit batter, three singles, and an error on a squeeze bunt play would produce three more MNU runs to make it 4-0 through an inning and a half.
That would be all MidAmerica Nazarene would get against CU starter Christian Prull who would throw his first career complete game, allowing those four earned runs on seven hits with a career-high seven strikeouts while allowing one walk.
On the other end of what ended up being somewhat of a pitchers' duel, Zach Trevino earned his ninth win of the season with a three-hitter allowing an earned run and three walks while striking out eight Clarke hitters.
Following that quick, 1:40 seven inning game, game two's story was more about pitchers getting out of jams and offenses leaving runners on base as the three total runs scored in the first inning, two by MNU and one by CU, had both teams strand the bases loaded to end the inning.
In the top of the first, Luke Fredrick would come in out of the bullpen with one out and runners on first and second after the Pioneers already pushed two runs across as he allowed a single to right field to load the bases. Fredrick would then induce a slow roller back to him in front of the mound as he flipped to Donnie Weaver for a force out at home for Weaver to fire the ball to first in time to complete the double play and get out of the bases loaded jam.
Clarke would answer in the bottom of the first, scoring a run on a wild pitch following back-to-back singles by Dean Ormonde and Brendan O'Connor to start the inning as an Alex Reynozo walk and a Kieron Crowder single loaded the bases before MNU starter Jackson Noland forced a ground out to short to get himself out of a bases loaded threat.
The bottom of the second would be a little of the same for Noland as he loaded the bases again with two outs before Sherwood made the play of the day defensively, diving for a ground ball up the middle and throwing out the Pride hitter at first to once again finish an inning stranding three runners on base.
Both teams would once again score in the third but it was a three spot for MidAmerica Nazrene on an RBI single from Sean Maple and a two-RBI double from Drew Woodley to make it 5-1 as Clarke would only get a run back in the bottom of the inning before stranding two more runners on base to end the inning.
In all, the Pride left 12 runners on base over the entirety of the game as the trio of pitchers for MNU in Noland, Bryce Brecklin, and Reece Helland allowed seven hits and five walks but also struck out 10 of the 21 outs in the game for Noland to pick up his first win of the year, Helland earned his fourth save, and Brecklin did the bulk of the work going 3.1 innings of two-hit ball while striking out five.
On the mound for CU, Fredrick produced one of his better outings of the season going 2.2 innings allowing two earned runs and four hits while striking out three as Carson Possehl produced a bounce back outing in his first relief appearance of the season allowing one run on two hits and no walks with three strikeouts in four innings for the Pride.
These two teams will get right back after it at 1:00 p.m. CT back at A.J. Spiegel Park on Saturday for Clarke baseball's Senior Day with proceedings set to take place about 30 minutes prior to first pitch of the first game of the day.