ST. LOUIS—MBU Baseball (11-8, 5-3 AMC) fell in the opener of Wednesday's doubleheader against Harris-Stowe (12-18, 3-8 AMC) before recovering to earn a split with a victory in game two.
 
GAME ONE
Harris-Stowe drew first blood with a run in the opening frame but the Spartans responded in the top of the third. A single to right field by Trent Shelby scored Sage Voda to tie the game.
 
The game remained tied until the top of the sixth. With one out and one on, Vincent Napolitano took a 3-2 pitch over the left field fence for his second home run of the season. With that, the Spartans were only six outs away from their fifth consecutive win.
 
But Harris-Stowe finally cracked MBU starter Josh Sieglitz in the bottom of the sixth and re-tied the game at 3-3 with four hits, all of which were singles. The Hornets nearly took the lead but the go-ahead run was gunned down on a play at the plate.
 
The contest continued into extra innings and it was that the Spartans' shaky defense that once again reared its head. A leadoff single turned into a runner on second after a wild throw from the shortstop position. After an intentional walk and then a wild pitch, Harris-Stowe had the winning run 90 feet away. The Spartans nearly got the double play they wanted but the throw to the plate was not in time. The home side grabbed the 4-3 comeback win.
 
GAME TWO
Knowing they let a win slip away in game one, the Spartans jumped out quickly on offense in game two. DJ Schmidt led the off the first inning with a single and came around to score one batter later when Sage Voda doubled to the left field gap. Voda later scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead after one inning.
 
MBU added two more runs in the third inning. Voda started the frame with a single and advanced to third with the help of a Harris-Stowe error. With one out, Vincent Napolitano picked up his third RBI of the day on a base hit up the middle. Just like that, the Spartans knocked HSSU starter Drew Sigman out of the game after 2 and 1/3 innings. Luis Tajia then greeted reliever Preston Burnett with another single to score Trent Shelby from second. Another Harris-Stowe error in the seventh inning made it a 5-1 game.
 
MBU starting pitcher Austin Worrell was happy to have the run support though the redshirt junior didn't need much. Worrell worked a complete game (seven innings since game one went to extras) allowing five hits and one earned run. He struck out four and only walked one to earn his first win of 2020.
 
The victory moved the Spartans to 5-3 in the AMC and 11-8 overall. MBU will head to Hannibal this weekend for a three-game series against the Trojans. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 1 pm (pending changes due to weather).