HATTIESBURG, MISS. – [BOX GAME ONE] [BOX GAME TWO] Missouri Baptist Baseball split a doubleheader with Ave Maria (Fla.) and William Carey (Miss.) on Friday in Hattiesburg, Miss. After being shutout in game one, the Spartans grabbed a 9-3 win in the nightcap to improve their record to 1-2.
 
In the first game of the day, Mo. Bap struggled to solve Ave Maria starting pitcher Jared Halteman. In just his second career start, the freshman held the Spartan bats to just four hits in five innings.
 
On the other side, MBU starter Jordan Chana nearly matched Halteman pitch for pitch. Chana was working on a two-hit shutout before the Gyrenes finally broke through in the seventh inning. After two walks and a hit by pitch, AMU managed to score the only run of the game on a fielder's choice.
 
The Spartans threatened in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff single but were unable to capitalize. Ave Maria escaped with the 1-0 win.
 
The MBU offense was able to flip its fortunes in the second game of the day against William Carey. A two-RBI double from General McArthur got things started in the second inning.
 
The Spartans added two more in the fifth inning with the help of two Crusader errors. Caleb Dean led off with a single and came across for the first of his three runs scored. He finished the night 2-5 at the plate while also registering a stolen base.
 
Spartan starter Gary Watkins was perfect through four innings before finally running out of gas in the fifth. He would still depart with a 4-3 lead. Despite the hiccup, the MBU bats restored the breathing room with a four-run sixth inning. A pair of RBI triples from Greg Greene and Domonique Hernandez accounted for a large portion of the damage.
 
With a comfortable 9-3 lead to protect, Josh Sieglitz and Manny Pizarro combined for two perfect frames out of the bullpen.
 
Missouri Baptist closes out the season opening road trip on Saturday with another matchup against Ave Maria. First pitch is scheduled for 12 pm.