O'FALLON, Mo. –Missouri Baptist University Baseball opened Pool Play at the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Baseball Championships with an unexpected loss to lower-seeded Williams Baptist University on Tuesday evening. The Spartans were tripped up by the seventh-seeded Eagles, 3-2, in what was a pitcher's duel.
 
MBU entered this week's tournament as the No. 3 seed with a 14-7 record against AMC competition and took two out of three from the Eagles at home earlier this season.
 
Both teams were held scoreless through five innings as veteran leader Matthew Hess and WBU's Ray Ochoa dominated from the bump. The Eagles broke the tie in the top of the sixth. An error by right fielder Tommy Patrick Jr. put a WBU baserunner on second with no outs. Hess responded well, recording two outs before the error came back to bite the Spartans when Nick Allred singled into left field, allowing the run to score.
 
Pitching on both sides continued to frustrate batters until the top of the eighth. Then, the Eagles found two more runs to extend their lead to 3-0. Unfortunately, the Spartans failed to respond with any runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
 
In potentially his last performance as a Spartan, Hess impressed, throwing the complete game allowing only three runs (two earned) with 12 strikeouts over nine innings of work.
 
Down to their final three outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Spartans manufactured a bit of luck and momentum at the plate. Carter Mize led off the inning, smoking a stand-up double into left field. Then, Jordan Brandenburg collected his second hit of the game with another desperation double to bring Mize home. With no outs on the board, and the tying run at the plate at 3-1, MBU had life.
 
The Spartans needed something big after a groundout by pinch hitter PJ Brooks and a strikeout by third baseman Hayden Roney. Tommy Patrick Jr. hit what looked to be a routine fly ball into left field. However, MoBap caught a break as the left fielder mishandled it, allowing Brandenburg to score and Patrick to reach first. With the tying run on base and the go-ahead run at the plate, relief pitcher Eric Tolar shut down the rally, forcing Hutch Kettler to fly out as MBU.
 
With the 3-2 upset loss, the Spartans will have to climb back through the loser's bracket to keep the season alive. MBU will be back on the diamond Wednesday night to play the loser of Game 5 between top-seeded Lyon College and No. 4 seed William Woods University. The contest is scheduled for a 7:00 PM start or 30-35 minutes following the completion of Game 7.