ST. LOUIS – No. 11 Missouri Baptist University baseball earned the program's first wins in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with a doubleheader sweep over Baker University on Friday.
The Spartans won game one 12-4 behind
Teague Robertson's complete game and
Carlos Hidalgo's two home run performance.
In game two,
Jayden Orozco launched a go-ahead three-run home run in the fifth inning before
Zach Peters escaped a bases-loaded jam in back-to-back innings to earn the save in an 8-5 victory.
The Spartans now sit 12-4 overall and 2-0 in the Heart.
Game One Recap
Jackson Truman put Baker in front in the top of the first inning when he took a 1-0 offering from Robertson into the wind heading out to left field for a two-run home run.
Robertson settled in and retired the side in order in the top of the second. In the bottom half,
Jonny Marquez curved a ball inside the left field foul pole for his second home run of the year to cut the lead in half.
The floodgates opened for the MBU offense in the third.
Griffin Brown worked the count full and launched a solo home run to lead off.
Nick Beech blasted a two-run home run two batters later, followed by
Sam Paule's RBI single and Hidalgo's three-run blast to open an 8-3 lead.
Miguel Padron tacked on another solo home run in the fifth, followed by Hidalgo's second home run of the day two batters later.
Robertson took it from there, ending the seven-inning complete game with four earned runs, one walk, and five strikeouts on 97 pitches. He improves his overall record to 3-1 this season.
Winning Pitcher: Teague Robertson (3-1)
Losing Pitcher: Camden Karlin (3-1)
Batting Leaders:
Carlos Hidalgo: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R
Nick Beech: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
Miguel Padron: 2-for-3, HR, RBI, R
Game Two Recap
For the second consecutive game, the Wildcats began the first inning with a two-run home run to open a lead, this time from TJ Armstrong.
Max Shabestari hit a solo bomb in the second, but Baker ran the lead out to 5-1 in the third.
Brady Friend got the ball on the mound for the Wildcats and gave his team four solid innings of work, with three earned runs after surrendering a two-run home run to Padron in the fourth.
In the fifth, Baker turned to a pair of left-handed relievers who gave up the 5-3 lead. Hidalgo walked, Brown was hit by a pitch, and
Jayden Orozco played the hero with a towering go-ahead three-run home run deep over MBU's scoreboard in left field.
Matis Crouwel tacked on an RBI single later in the frame to extend the lead to 7-5.
Spartan starter
Gus Lucas gave his club five innings of work, surrendering eight hits, five unearned runs, and one walk with three strikeouts. Closer
Zach Peters took over for him in the sixth, loading the bases with three hit batters before coming through with a dramatic looking strikeout of Armstrong.
Head Coach
Eddie Uschold stuck with his closer in the seventh. Peters allowed a pair of lead-off singles and loaded the bases again with a walk. He then struck out the next three batters to complete the 8-5 win and to earn his fourth save of the season.
Winning Pitcher: Gus Lucas (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Anthony Sillas (1)
Save: Zach Peters (4)
Batting Leaders:
Jayden Orozco: 2-for-3, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, SB, BB
Max Shabestari: 2-for-3, 2B, HR, RBI, 3 R, BB
Miguel Padron: 1-for-2, HR, 2 RBI
Record:
No. 11 Missouri Baptist: 12-4, 2-0 Heart
Baker: 10-8, 0-2 Heart
What's Next?
The four-game series with the Wildcats wraps up on Saturday, March 14, with a doubleheader. The first pitch is set for noon.
