Pride and Vikings combine for 83 runs in wild Monday series finale doubleheader
MARSHALL, Mo. - Just a day after producing their two highest run totals in their Heart of America Athletic Conference openers, the Clarke University baseball team outdid themselves in a big way in Monday's doubleheader to close out their series against Missouri Valley College with a 27-17 win and a 20-19 loss to clinch a series win.
Not to be confused with scores more prone to the football field, the Pride scored in all but three innings as they produced a 14-run second inning in the opener on their way to the 27-17 win while their most runs in an inning in the finale came in the top of the fourth when they scored seven.
In the 27-17 win, CU would set a new program record for runs scored in a game, tied the school record for home runs in a game (5), and come up one RBI short of the record for team RBIs in a game (24).
Clarke was able to take advantage of the 13 walks given out by Viking pitchers in their win but only drew one walk in the series finale as they would end up with a total of 40 hits on their way to the 46 runs.
The big run producers for the Pride were Thomas Brannon who had 11 RBIs overall, with six in the loss and five in the win as he finished with six hits in nine at bats, Dean Ormonde had seven RBIs total, with Alden Brown and Alex Reynozo both finishing the day with five RBIs.
Clarke would also pound out seven home runs in total as Brannon finished the day with home runs in each game, Ormonde, Reynozo, Brown, and Kieron Crowder would homer in the win, and Donnie Weaver added a long ball in the series finale.
A day that saw records in offensive production saw everyone who stepped foot in the batter's box or on a base for CU on the day either drive in at least one run and get a hit or score a run over the 14 innings with Brendan O'Connor recording six hits, six runs scored, and four RBIs, Jin Hattori finishing with five hits, eight runs scored, and three RBIs, Tommy Peterson going 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs in the opener, Andrew Swartz scoring two runs in a four-walk performance in the opener, Randy Lopez Acosta going 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the finale, Michael Garritano finishing 1-for-1 with an RBI and run scored as a pinch hitter in the finale, and Cole Swartz scoring a run as a pinch runner in the opener.
The Pride will bring their high-octane offense to their home-opening weekend as they prepare to play their first games at A.J. Spiegel Park in Peosta, Iowa on Mar. 16-17 when they host Grand View University with each day's action slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. CT.