Pride and Mustangs split to open crucial Heart North series

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Beginning a four-game series between the top-two teams in the North Division of the Heart of America Athletic Conference, the Clarke University baseball team earned one out of two wins at Mount Mercy University on Friday afternoon.

Both games had plenty of offense early in back-and-forth action as second baseman Victor Lara was the catalyst for first inning runs for the Pride in each game but then MMU would answer with a four-run bottom half off of Isaac Rohde in the opener then a three-run bottom of the first off of Tyson Tucker in the second game.

Continuing in the opener, Kieron Crowder would single home a run in the second inning to pull the game to a 4-2 Mustangs lead before a three-run third gave CU the lead back at 5-4 after a Bubba Thompson RBI double and a Daniel Phyle RBI triple.

Mount Mercy would answer once again with another crooked number as they scored two in the bottom of the third on a pair of solo home runs to give the Mustangs the lead back at 6-5 before Clarke would tie it on their own solo home run from Johnny Blake as he went deep to right center to make it a 6-6 game. 

With the game still tied heading into the seventh inning, a bunt single by Phyle and a walk to Maguire Fitzgerald put runners on first and second for pinch hitter Paul Von Zboray as the sub laid down a sacrifice bunt to move runners to second and third with one out. A walk to Crowder would bring up Lara as he would beat out a potential double play ball to score the runner from third and keep the inning alive with a 7-6 Clarke lead as more control issues from the MMU pitching staff would create back-to-back walks to score another run and make it an 8-6 Pride lead, that they would go on and win by.

Both Phyle and Fitzgerald would finish the first game with two-hit games while also scoring a pair of runs as Greg Bennett was able to relieve Rohde to pitch two scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh, striking out two and only allowing one baserunner via a walk.

A pair of five-run innings would tell the story in the day's finale as Clarke answered Mount Mercy's three-run first with a five-run second highlighted by a bases clearing double with the bases loaded as he tripled and doubled in his first two at bats of the game.

Trailing 6-3, the Mustangs would score five of their own in the bottom of the third to retake the lead and hold it for good as they were powered by a two-run home run in the third then got a three-run shot to extend their lead to 11-6 in the fourth, which they would eventually win by.

The Pride will head back to Cedar Rapids for the finale of the series against Mount Mercy on Sunday with the doubleheader scheduled for another 1:00 p.m. CT first pitch.