Pride home opener leads to doubleheader split to open series against Grand View
PEOSTA, Iowa - Getting their first taste of action on their home field in the 2024 season, the Clarke University baseball team won their series opener against Grand View University 9-3 then dropped the second game of Friday afternoon's doubleheader 5-4.
The CU offense kept it rolling from their strong Heart opening weekend as they only went one inning without scoring as they put up two runs in four of the five scoring innings with Brendan O'Connor opening up the scoring in the bottom of the first with a solo home run to left, making it 1-0 at the time.
Grand View would answer with a three-run top of the second as Pride starter Dante Maietta's lone blemish of his complete game outing as he would pitch the other six innings scoreless to finish with a line of three earned runs on eight hits and four walks with 11 strikeouts over the seven-inning performance.
Clarke's offensive star was first baseman Tommy Peterson as he would also launch a solo home run in the fourth inning as part of his 3-for-3 day as he was a triple shy of the cycle while driving in three runs and score two more runs as he other two RBIs came on a two-run single in the fifth inning to make it a 7-3 Pride lead.
Thomas Brannon would drive in two runs for CU along with both Alex Reynozo and Kieron Crowder adding RBIs in the opener while O'Connor and Dean Ormonde finished the game scoring two runs each then Cole Swartz, Andrew Swartz, and Reynozo all crossed home plate once each.
In Grand View's 5-4 win the two teams would trade runs in the second then from the bottom of the fourth into the top of the fifth, making it a 2-2 game heading to the sixth inning where the Vikings big swing would come from Carson Wadel as he hit a three-run triple to give GVU a 5-2 lead.
The Pride would answer with two runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth but stranded runners to end the sixth then went three-up, three-down in the seventh to end the game with a split.
Ormonde and Reynozo would finish the day's finale with two-hit games as Peterson added two more RBis to finish the day with five RBIs as he, Crowder, O'Connor, Jin Hattori all had one hit in the game.
Carson Possehl got the start for CU as he would go six innings allowing five runs, four earned, on 11 hits as he struck out five Viking hitters without surrendering a walk while Ryan Blondell pitched a scoreless seventh inning, striking out two batters.
Clarke and Grand View will finish their four-game series on Saturday when they matchup again at A.J. Spiegel Park for a 1:00 p.m. CT scheduled first pitch in Peosta, Iowa.