Bats come alive late as Pride split doubleheader at Mission University

OZARK, Mo. - Adjusting their schedule this weekend due to rain at their originally scheduled location, the Clarke University baseball team opened their four-game series against Mission University with a doubleheader split on Friday afternoon.

The Pride and Patriots played somewhat opposite games in each end of the double dip to a low-scoring 3-1 loss in game one and a 9-8 win in game two for CU starting their second weekend of the 2024 season.

Managing only nine hits between both teams in the series opener, both teams eclipsed that hit total on their own end in the second game as the Pride were outhit 12-10 but used a huge six-run top of the sixth inning to come back from down 8-3 to lead by the eventual final of 9-8.

That sixth inning was powered by a pair of two-run home runs, first by Jin Hattori to pull Clarke within three runs at 8-5 MU before an Andrew Swartz RBI double and Brendan O'Connor RBI single led the way for Thomas Brannon to hit his own two-run home run to take the lead.

Brannon and Hattori were the only CU players with a multi-RBI game on the day as Hittori, O'Connor, and Alex Reynozo all had two-hit games with Hattori and Reynozo both scoring two runs.

After allowing eight runs combined in the second and third innings, Pride relief pitchers Christian Prull and Joe Alba locked it down to keep the Pride within striking distance to allow that sixth inning comeback as Prull threw two innings and Alba pitched a scoreless seventh to pick up the win and save respectively, both allowing only one hit and striking out one.

In the day's opener, Mission took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third before Clarke tied the game after Brannon led off the top of the fourth with a double and his courtesy runner, Ethan Jones, was driven in by a Kieron Crowder single to tie the game at 1-1. 

The Patriots would score twice to take their eventual winning 3-1 lead in the bottom half of the fourth as all three of the CU runs allowed went down as unearned.

On the mound in that opener for the Pride were Carson Possehl for the start and Josh Scalish in relief as they finished with nearly identical lines of three innings pitched with three hits allowed, two walks, and two strikeouts as the only difference was Scalish was on the mound in the fourth for the two runs against, both unearned, and Possehl allowed the single unearned run in the third.

Clarke and Mission will complete their four games series with another pair of seven inning games on Saturday starting with a first pitch of the day's opener and the series' third game scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CT.