WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. – MBU Baseball (20-11, 13-5 AMC) earned two more road wins on Friday afternoon in Arkansas. The Spartans knocked off Williams Baptist 11-4 and 5-1 in a doubleheader sweep and will go for the series win on Saturday.
GAME ONE
In the series opener, the Spartans did most of their damage offensively with a five-run second inning. With
Noah Hemphill on after a one-out single,
Hunter Hill connected for his third home run of the season. Three batters later,
Luis Tajia's first homer of the season added three more to the run total.
Thanks to walks and hit batters in the fourth inning, the Spartans only needed one hit in the frame to stretch the lead to 8-0. A two-RBI double by
Carter Mize and a sacrifice fly by
Adrian Gutierrez in the eighth put it well out of a reach for Williams Baptist.
Masen Palmier pitched 6.2 for MBU, most of it stress-free with a sizeable lead to protect. He allowed three earned run on eight hits. The senior ran into some trouble in the seventh before giving way to
Ryan Turner who got the final out.
GAME TWO
The nightcap was more competitive, and it was the Spartan pitching that needed to be sharp.
Billy Heil came through with 6+ innings allowing one run on five hits.
The offense did just enough led by sophomore
Tommy Patrick Jr. The Houston native drove in
Noah Hemphill with a single in the second and then blasted a two-out solo homer in his next at bat in the fourth.
The Spartans held a 2-1 lead heading to the ninth when they finally broke it open. A two-RBI double by Hemphill was the key hit to make it a 5-1 game.
Josh Sieglitz took over for Heil in the seventh and closed out the final 2+ with just one hit allowed.
REACTION FROM COACH USCHOLD
"Two good team wins. That second game was a grind. Heil was very good and Sieglitz was even better. We got a lot of contributions from our bench, so it was total team win."
WHAT'S NEXT
The four-game series will conclude on Saturday with an 11 am first pitch. The Spartans remain one game back of Columbia at the top of the AMC.
