HANNIBAL, Mo. – Needing only a win to claim the American Midwest Conference Regular Season Championship for the first time since 2017, the Missouri Baptist Spartans went out and did it with authority. MBU claimed the first game of the day, 21-5 in seven innings over Hannibal-LaGrange University before winning the second game 13-4.
 
GAME ONE: MBU 21, HLGU 5
The Spartans left little suspense about their intention to claim a conference title today as they jumped on the Trojans for six runs in the first inning and scored in every inning except the fifth.
 
Spartans ace Anthony Green pitched the first four innings in order to be eligible for his 11th win of the season. He gave up just one run on four hits while adding six more strikeouts to his resume. He is now second in the NAIA in wins, and third in both strikeouts (108) and strikeouts per nine innings pitched (13.98).
 
While Green was spinning another gem on the mound, there was plenty of offense to go around as well. MoBap had 19 hits in scoring 21 runs and every starter contributed with at least one hit. The Spartans were also assisted by some shaky defense from HLGU, who committed four errors.
 
The brightest offensive star was leftfielder Blane Besse, who was four for five including his club-leading 13th home run of the year. He also scored four runs. First baseman Cole Robinson was three for five with five RBIs. Blayne Yarger and Jakob Kouneski also had three hits. Among the three this for Yarger was his third home run of the season. Cesar Soto had just one hit but was responsible for four runs batted in.
 
The lopsided nature of the game allowed the Spartans to audition some arms and utilize seldom-used others. Sage McMinn pitched his first inning of the season, then Chris Brown pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh to finish it out.
 
The first win of the day ensured the Spartans would claim at least a share of the AMC title.
 
GAME TWO: MBU 13, HLGU 4
Much like the first game, the MBU offense scored multiple runs early and effectively allowed the pitching staff to cruise through this nine-inning affair. The beneficiary this time was Tanner Young as he took the ball for the Spartans and pitched a solid five innings to gain his sixth victory before freshman Landon Albers came on to finish it out. Young gave up three runs in his five innings, while walking one and striking out five to earn his sixth win of the season. Albers was up to the task too with his four innings while giving up a run on three hits with a walk and three punch outs.
 
Once again, the MBU offense suffered no shortage of willing contributors, banging out 19 hits in the contest. Blayne Yarger was four for six in the game with two RBIs and a run scored. He has raised his batting average of late to .408, which is second on the team in that category. Blane Besse was three for six with four runs scored. Cesar Soto and Alex Adams also had three hits in the game, with four and three runs batted in respectively.
 
The two victories on the day leaves the Spartans with a stellar 39-5 record, and at 18-2 they have clinched the AMC Regular Season title outright. Their last regular season conference championship was 2017, when they shared the title with Columbia College. That season was also the last time an MBU team has won more than the current 39 games. In both the 2016 and 2017 seasons the Spartans finished with 45 wins.
 
The Spartans and Trojans will play one last regular season game tomorrow in Hannibal beginning at 2:00 p.m. before both team participate in the AMC Conference Tournament beginning next Tuesday at Carshield Field in O'Fallon, Mo.