ST. LOUIS – [BOX GAME ONE] [BOX GAME TWO] Missouri Baptist Baseball went 1-1 on Friday on a day marked by shaky starting pitching. The Spartans defeated Mount Mercy 8-6 in game one and would later lose to College of the Ozarks 12-2 in game two.
 
Much like Thursday, game one between Mount Mercy and Missouri Baptist started with an explosion of offense. 11 combined 1^st inning runs would chase both starting pitchers from the game before recording three outs.
 
Kobi Candaroma led off the game by taking the 0-1 offering from Michael Carr over the right field wall to put the Mustangs up early. A walk and a stolen base would set the stage for an RBI single from Tito Berdecia. A few batters later, a two out, three-run home run by John Thomas would give Mount Mercy a 5-0 lead before the second inning.
 
The Spartans answered in the bottom half of the inning with RBIs coming from Gabriel Castillo and Jonathon Pasillas. With still only one out, John Hagan stepped in with the bases loaded and tripled to left-center field, clearing the bases. A sacrifice fly from Tommy Nawa would drive home Hagan to give the Spartans a 6-5 lead after the first inning.
 
Missouri Baptist would strike again in the bottom of the 2^nd when Drew Brooks singled home General McArthur. Mount Mercy would wait another two innings to answer on Candaroma's single that plated Evan Jackson making it 7-6 Missouri Baptist. The Spartans would plate their final run in the bottom of the fifth on Domonique Hernandez's first home run of the year.
 
Hayden Crowe, Brandon Downey, and Austin Schiber combined for 6.1 innings, striking out eight batters and only allowing one run on five hits out of the bullpen. The Spartans earned their third straight win with an 8-6 final.
 
The second game started just as rough as the first one for Missouri Baptist. College of the Ozarks would score five runs on four Spartan errors, giving them a 5-0 lead after the first inning. J.D. Payne would hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning to put the Bobcats up by seven.
 
Missouri Baptist scored their first run of the game in the top of the fourth inning when John Hagan drove in Domonique Hernandez. It was Hagan's fourth RBI of the day. College of the Ozarks answered with three more runs in the bottom of the inning making the score 10-1.
 
In the top of the fifth, Mason Washington drove home McArthur trying to spark late life for the Spartans. It was to no avail as the Spartans would give up two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, falling to the Bobcats 12-2.
 
Missouri Baptist will attempt to keep the momentum going into their home opener on Friday against Davenport University. The double header is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.