ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Baptist Spartans just can't stop hitting. On a cloudy, chilly, windy day at Spartan Baseball Field in suburban St. Louis, MBU banged out 13 more hits and 15 more runs in the weekend series against Lyon College. Pitcher Micah Diamond through an effective five innings and the Spartans won game three of the series 15-5. MoBap won all three games of the series by a combined score of 40-7.
 
As has been the case for many of their games this season, the offense got going early and the pitching held down or even dominated an opponent for the Spartans to win comfortably.
 
After Diamond set the Scots down in order in the top of the first, the Spartans got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the inning. After Blayne Yarger reached on a fielder's choice, Alex Adams followed with a single. The runners then moved to second and third on a passed ball. Cole Robinson delivered a sacrifice fly for the first of his three RBIs on the day, bringing home Yarger. Noah Hemphill stepped up and drove in Adams with a single to right center for 2-0 lead.
 
The Spartans sent 11 batters to the plate and had two home runs in the second as they put seven more runs on the board. A walk to DJ Schmidt and a single by Cesar Soto preceded the club-leading twelfth home run of the season by Blane Besse to deliver the first three runs of the inning. The three RBIs also moved Besse to second on the team in that category with 47. Following the home run, both Yarger and Adams were struck by pitches to put two runners on base. Robinson singled passed the shortstop to score Yarger from second to make it 6-0 MBU. Following his grand slam yesterday, Tommy Patrick Jr launched a three-run homer today to clear the bases and the Spartans had blown it open, 9-0 after two innings.
 
The Scots got on the board in the third with a two-out walk, a hit batsman, and an error on a single to center to score two and make it 9-2 MoBap.
 
The game then settled down a bit until the bottom of the fifth, when the Spartans were up to their old tricks again. DJ Schmidt led off with a double and scored on a Joe Schmidt home run. The round-tripper was the fourth of the season for Schmidt and made the game 11-2.  Later in the inning Hemphill gained a bases loaded walk to bring home run number 12 and the Spartans had a 10-run lead.
 
On senior day, honoree Brian Higdon took over on the mound in the top of the sixth. The Scots were not in a celebratory mood. After getting through the sixth unscathed, Higdon allowed the first two batters to reach in the seventh via a hit-by-pitch and a single. After a groundout, back-to-back singles brought both of those runners home for two of the three runs given up. The third scored on a sacrifice fly to make the score 12-5, and the three runs guaranteed the Spartans would bat in the bottom of the seventh. Senior Chris Brown came on to record the final out of the inning in the top of the seventh.
 
Still, the Spartans were able to close out the game in the seventh via the "mercy rule." Adams was hit by a pitch, then came home on a Robinson double. Hemphill then reached as another hit batter. After two consecutive fly outs, Joe Schmidt got his third RBI of the game on a single scoring Robinson. Little used Arturo Brito, who had pinch-batted in the sixth and stayed in defensively to play second base, made the most of this opportunity and singled to left field, scoring Hemphill, and sending the cold, wind-blown home crowd scurrying to their warm vehicles, content with a 15-5 Spartans win in seven innings.
 
Diamond picked up the win and is now 7-0 on the year. He pitched the first five innings on two runs, three hits, two walks and five strikeouts.
 
Besse, Robinson, Patrick Jr., and Joe Schmidt all had three RBIs in the game. Soto joined Besse, Robinson and Joe Schmidt with two hits.
 
Missouri Baptist is now 35-5 on the season and 16-2 in the American Midwest Conference. The 35 wins is the best mark for the program since 2019 when they finished 36-17. In forty games the Spartans have outscored their opponents 350 to 156 (8.75 to 3.9 per game).
 
The Spartans win coupled with a Columbia College loss to William Woods University on Saturday means MBU has a two-game lead on the rest of the conference heading into their final three conference games of the season on Thursday and Friday on the road against Hannibal-LaGrange University.
 
Before they finish out conference play though, the Spartans will host non-conference opponent Iowa Wesleyan University for the final time on Tuesday. IWU announced earlier this spring that they are closing after this academic year is complete. The Tigers and Spartans will play a doubleheader at Spartan Baseball Field beginning at 1:00 p.m.