HATTIESBURG, Miss. – No. 12 Missouri Baptist University baseball defeated No. 11 William Carey University on the road behind a stellar outing from the Spartan pitching staff on Thursday night in Hattiesburg, Miss.
No. 11 William Carey Recap
Gus Lucas started the game with four strong innings,
Austin Szverra picked up his second win of the season with four scoreless out of the bullpen, and
Zach Peters slammed the door by striking out the side in the ninth to earn his first save.
The Spartans were led on offense by a go-ahead sacrifice fly from
Nick Beech in the eighth inning, followed by an RBI double from
Jayden Orozco for insurance in the ninth inning.
Carlos Hidalgo put pressure on from the leadoff spot in the first inning after reaching on an error and stealing second base to put a runner in scoring position. Crusaders starter Matthew Davis worked around with a strikeout, a groundout, and a pop-out.
In the top of the fourth, MBU struck first when Orozco singled to the pitcher and came around to score on a throwing error.
After facing just one over the minimum through his first three innings on the rubber, Lucas surrendered a leadoff double, a single, and an RBI double that tied the game. He rebounded with three consecutive strikeouts to strand the runners at second and third.
Szverra took over in the fifth and kept the game tied through the seventh inning. A double from Orozco moved
Miguel Padron to third, and Beech brought him in with a sacrifice fly. Â
Szverra set the side down in order in the bottom of the eighth before Orozco tacked on an insurance run with an RBI double in the top of the ninth.
Eddie Uschold brought in Peters, his closer, for the bottom of the ninth. The 6-5 right-handed pitcher from Fort Worth, Texas, surrendered a leadoff walk and a stolen base before getting the next three hitters to strikeout swinging to earn his first save of the season.
Winning Pitcher: Austin Szverra (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: L. Jarreau (0-1)
Save: Zach Peters (1)
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Batting Leaders
Jayden Orozco: 3-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, R
Miguel Padron: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 R
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Record:
No. 12 Missouri Baptist: 4-1
No. 11 William Carey: 5-4
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What's Next?
MBU Baseball continues play in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Saturday, Feb 13, with a doubleheader. They play Indiana University Kokomo at noon ahead of a rematch with No. 11 William Carey at 6 p.m.
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