SAINT LOUIS – After securing a 14-4 win in the first game of a Friday doubleheader with Williams Baptist University, a ninth-inning two-run walk-off homer by Jayden Orozco allowed MBU to sweep both games, winning the second 9-8 in dramatic fashion.
 
GAME ONE: MBU 14, WBU 4
Spartans' starter Teague Robertson was once again masterful in allowing just four hits and two runs over six innings to claim his seventh victory of the season. Blayne Yarger continued his hot streak at the plate by belting two home runs and driving in five runs.
 
It was Alex Adams that got the offense going for the Spartans in the first as he delivered his seventeenth home run of the season to give MBU a 2-0 lead.
 
After the Eagles got a run back on a solo home run in the second, Lucas Lefebvre drove home Jayden Orozco with a single in the second. It was the first of two RBI singles the designated hitter from Canada would have in the game. He would give the Spartans a 4-1 lead by repeating the task, once again driving home Orozco, in the fourth. Cesar Soto followed with an RBI single of this own, then Yarger blasted a three-run homer to give the Spartans an 8-1 cushion after four innings.
 
The Spartans tacked on six more in the fifth inning as Soto muscled up for a grand slam then Yarger hit his second home run of the game, this time of the two-run variety, to push the lead to 14-2.
 
The Eagles got back a couple in the top of the seventh inning thanks to a two-run home run from left-fielder Tyler Burnett, his second home run of the game, off reliever Sean Keene to make the final score 14-4 in favor of MBU.
 
Yarger finished the game three for four at the plate with five RBIs and three runs scored. His two home runs pushed him into the club lead, which he would extend in the second game.
 
The only runs charged to Robertson were the result of a pair of solo home runs in the second and fifth inning. His record stands at 7-0 and he sports a 4.40 ERA through 59 and a third innings.
 
 
GAME TWO: MBU 9, WBU 8
Whereas in Game One the Spartans never really felt threatened, the Eagles made sure they knew they were in for a fight in the second game. So much so that it took a ninth inning walk-off home run from Orozco to seal the victory for MBU.
 
As has been their pattern, MBU jumped out to an early lead. A two-out single by catcher Jakob Kouneski chased in Blane Besse and Blayne Yarger for a 2-0 first-inning lead.
 
After the Eagles hit their third solo-home run of the day in the top of the third to cut the lead in half, first baseman Cole Robinson, who sat out the first game of the day, struck for his sixteenth home run of the season chasing home Yarger for a 4-1 MBU lead. Later in the same inning, Orozco singled to score pinch runner DJ Schmidt to increase the lead.
 
The score remained 5-1 until the top of the fifth when the Eagles struck for four runs. The big blow for WBU was a three-run homer off the bat of Skylar Morrison to tie the game at five. Unfortunately for the Eagles and Morrison, he was ejected for an excessive bat flip as part of this celebration. It is the same penalty that befell Cole Robinson on Tuesday of this week against Mission University (Mo.), forcing him to miss the first game on Friday.
 
Undeterred, the Spartans edged back in front on some heads-up play by Orozco. He walked with one out in the fifth, advanced to second on a fielder's choice, made third on an error from the pitcher on a pickoff move at second, then came home when the pitcher made a pickoff move to first base and the ball got away a short distance from the first baseman. Orozco manufactured a run to give the Spartans a 6-5 lead.
 
Two walks, a single and a fielder's choice allowed the Eagles to tie the game again in the top of the sixth, this time off Spartans' reliever Brady Stephan.
 
Yarger regained the lead for MBU by leading off the bottom of the sixth with his team-leading nineteenth home run of the season.
 
Sloppy defense allowed WBU to take the lead in the top of the seventh, as they scored two runs on one hit, benefiting from back-to-back errors by the Spartans. Williams Baptist lead 8-7 heading to the bottom of the seventh.
 
The lead would remain in the hands of WBU until the final at-bat for the Spartans. A lead-off double by Kouneski gave the Spartans a spark, then Orozco followed with the late game heroics. His home run to left-center field was his tenth of the season but more importantly was clutch when his team needed him most.
 
Greg Ryun got the win on the hill by pitching two and two thirds of scoreless baseball, not surrendering a hit, and striking out two. He is now 2-3 on the year.
 
In a bit of history, when Blane Besse crossed the plate in the first inning, he became the all-time leader in runs scored at Missouri Baptist with 166. He broke the record of 165 set by former Spartan and current MBU Hall of Famer David Allison.
 
The Spartans and Eagles will play the final game of the weekend series on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at Spartan Baseball Field.