Box Score KANSAS CITY – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist Baseball provided its fans a thrilling finish on Friday. Jared Hagley sent the Spartans home with a game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth and gave the home team a 3-2 win against Williams Baptist College (Ark.).
Missouri Baptist (33-9, 16-3 AMC) needed all nine innings to get it done in game one or a three-game American Midwest Conference Set with the Eagles. The Spartans scored both the game's first run and the last as the home team notched its conference-leading 16th victory of the year.
The Spartans plated its first run in the first thanks to its top offensive threat in 2016, Brian Poupore. The senior outfielder belted a double down the line to score Culver Plant, and made it a 1-0 lead.
Missouri Baptist extended the lead in the second. John Hagan led-off with a double and crossed the plate thanks to sound station-to-station play. Austyn Nagamine bunted Hagan to third just before a Tyler Greminger RBI groundout pushed Hagan across to make it a 2-0 lead.
The Eagles cut the Spartan lead in half in the third. Shae Mnichowski led-off the inning with a single and came around to score later on an error to make it a 2-1 game.
Both pitchers put together dynamic starts as both Missouri Baptist's Marcus Crescentini and Williams Baptist's Braxton Rhodes went head to head.
Rhodes posted three consecutive scoreless innings while reliever Anthony Noftsger recorded three more before Missouri Baptist broke through in the ninth.
Crescentini, the junior transfer from Indian Hills was just as sharp. He went seven strong innings and allowed just two earned runs and struck out five in his outing.
Williams Baptist got one back in the sixth, but as the game continued into its latter stages, Austin Sweet went to the hill and provided a spark with a dominant performance of his own. The Spartan hurler finished the game and allowed just one hit and grabbed his third win of 2016.
Missouri Baptist finished the hard-fought affair in the ninth. MBU loaded the bases thanks a double, an error and a walk, and with no outs, it was Hagley who finished things with the game winner.
Missouri Baptist will finish the series on Saturday with a doubleheader against the Eagles. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Spartan Baseball Field.
