HANNIBAL, Mo. – MBU Baseball (12-9, 5-3 AMC) cruised to two more wins over Hannibal-LaGrange (8-9, 2-6 AMC) on Monday afternoon to take the four-game series three games to one. With a 21-4 final in the first game of the day and a 14-4 victory in game two, Mo. Bap outscored the Trojans 63-11 in the series.
 
GAME ONE
After scoring 27 runs in the second game of the series on Saturday, the Spartans picked up where they left off in Monday's opener. A 10-run first inning put the underdog Hannibal in a world of hurt. After the first two batters of the game were hit by pitches, Kyle O'Brien got started on what would become a career-day. The junior initiated the scoring with a three-run blast over the right field fence.
 
Adrian Gutierrez then made it back-to-back with his third HR of the year. Later in the inning, after two doubles, another hit batter, and a walk, Treyton Steffler connected on the first pitch for a grand slam to make it 9-0. Gutierrez, the 13^th man to come to the plate in the inning, capped off the frame with another extra base hit, this time a double, to bring in O'Brien.
 
The Spartans were, almost remarkably, held off the scoreboard for two straight innings in the second and the third but the scoring resumed in the fourth with a Tommy Patrick Jr. home run. In the fifth, Steffler (three-run HR) and O'Brien (two-run HR) were at it again with the long ball and Hayden Roney put a bow on the game-one scoring with a two-run single in the sixth.
 
Matthew Hess completed four innings on the mound to earn the win. He allowed two runs, struck out six, and didn't walk a batter to improve his record to 3-0.
 
GAME TWO
The Spartans continued to fire out of the gates with another big first inning in game two. This time though, they received ample assistance from Hannibal starting pitcher River Thompson. Three walks and two singles led to three runs. Hunter Hill's base hit to left field drove in his 13^th and 14^th runs of the season.
 
It was 4-0 heading to the fourth inning when the Spartans really busted it open. A leadoff homer by Patrick and a two-run homer by O'Brien accounted for half of the runs in the frame. And O'Brien somehow still wasn't done. He came to the plate again in the fifth inning and again homered on a 1-2 count. His fourth of the day and eighth of the season made it a 12-0 game.
 
While the offense continued to rake, starting pitcher Josh Sieglitz was also working on one of the best performances of his career. The senior, making his first start of the season, didn't allow a hit in five innings. He struck out nine and walked just two. Sieglitz improved to 4-0 on the season and lowered his team-best ERA to a measly 1.37.
 
The second game of the day was scheduled for nine-innings but, like the nightcap on Saturday, the last two frames were unnecessary due to the Spartans being ahead by 10 after seven innings.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Spartans matched their longest winning-streak of the season at three games and will have a chance to extend it when Lyon College (10-12, 5-3 AMC) comes to town on Friday. First pitch at the Spartan Baseball Field is scheduled for 1 pm.