SAINT LOUIS – Going into the final game of the regular season, the Missouri Baptist Spartans knew they would likely have to win at least one and probably two games on Thursday to stay atop the American Midwest Conference baseball standings. It was not without a sense of drama, but MBU won both ends of a doubleheader with the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy to claim their 21^st AMC Regular Season title.
 
GAME ONE: MBU 12, UHSP 2
Timely hittng and a standout pitching performance made the difference for the Spartans in the first game of the day. The offense put runs on the board in each of the first five inning of the seven-inning contest, enabling MBU to build a 12-1 lead. The Eutectics got a run back in the bottom of the seventh to make the final score 12-2.
 
Starter Landon Albers turned in an outstanding pitching performance, lasting five innings while giving up one run on four hits, with four walks and seven strikeouts. The seven K's matches a season high for the sophomore from Breese, Ill., matching his March 22 effort against Harris Stowe State University. Albers gave up his only run in the first inning then shut down the UHSP offense. Sean Keene pitched the final two innings while surrendering a run on two hits.
 
Third baseman Jayden Orozco supplied all the offense the Spartans would need as he blasted a three-run homer in the second then connected for grand slam in the third. He finished the game two for three at the plate with those seven RBIs. Cole Robinson was three for four in the game with a run scored and three RBIs.
 
 
GAME TWO: MBU 8, UHSP 4
Unlike the first game, Game Two was more suspenseful. Some might say actually a little too suspenseful. The Spartans were able to pull away late to win 8-4 but led only 4-3 heading into the ninth inning.
 
Cole Robinson was once again the hitting star for MBU, finishing three for five at the dish with a run and three RBIs. He connected for his 17^th home run of the season, a two-run bomb, to jumpstart the Spartans offense in the first inning. Coupled with his performance in the first game of the day, the junior from Saint Louis finished the regular season with the sixth highest batting average (.463) in the NAIA, 17 home runs, and 63 RBIs. Blayne Yarger was the only other Spartan with more than one hit in the game, going two for five at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI.
 
Jackson Wells got the start for MBU and threw four efficient innings before being pulled. He didn't give up a run, on three hits and three walks, with seven strikeouts. Tony Caldwell got the win in relief, moving his record to 2-1 on the year. Skout Rallo entered the game in the eighth with the tying run on second base and recorded the four out save. His offense gave him some breathing room by scoring four runs in the top of the ninth to allow the Spartan faithful to rest a little easier. The Spartans had little room for error since they came into the day tied with Columbia College (Mo.) for the top spot in the conference, and the Cougars were busy sweeping William Woods University (Mo.) in their final series of the season.
 
With the victory in Game Two the Spartans secured the AMC Baseball Regular Season Championship. They finish the regular season tied with Columbia at 19-2 in conference, but the Spartans win the tiebreaker by virtue of their series win over the Cougars last weekend. MBU will now look ahead to being the No. 1 seed in the upcoming AMC Baseball Championship Tournament at Carshield Field in O'Fallon, Mo. The Spartans will take on the winner of No. 4 seed William Woods and No. 5 seed Williams Baptist University (Ark.) at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30.