Late rallies not enough in Pride Senior Day losses to Mount Mercy

PEOSTA, Iowa - In their final home series of the 2025 season, the Clarke University baseball team dropped both games of the series finale doubleheader to Mount Mercy University on Saturday afternoon at A.J. Spiegel Park.

Prior to the doubleheader, Clarke baseball honored a class of 11 seniors that included Ki Crowder, Dante Maietta, Alden Brown, Carson Possehl, Riley Fender, Jacob Monday, Jin Hattori, Kurisu Ueta, Randy Lopez Acosta, Dean Ormonde, and Alex Reynozo.

The Mustangs took early leads in both games three and four on their way to a 6-3 game three victory before jumping out 7-1 through three innings in game four to hang on to a 7-4 series clinching win on the road.

A tight pitching battle in game one was broken open by a four-run top of the seventh for MMU as they knocked CU starter Possehl out of the game with one out in the seventh before heading to the bottom half up 6-1.

Those four runs in the seventh spoiled what was otherwise a strong start for the Lodi, Wis. native as Possehl finished with a line of 6.1 innings allowing six hits, one walk, and one hit batter with five strikeouts.

Clarke produced a rally in the bottom of the seventh with the first three runnings reaching base, including an RBI single from Lopez Acosta to score Crowder before the bases were loaded with Brown representing the winning run at the plate but Mount Mercy's Cole Conner recorded the final out to pick up his sixth save of the season.

Game four would see that early lead for the Mustangs come on a three-run first and a three-run third with a run in the second sandwiched in the middle as the only run that Clarke was able to push across in the early portions of the game was on a Darin Eales triple in the first inning to score Reynozo.

Reynozo was able to get another run on the board for Clarke in the fourth to make it 7-2 on an RBI single, part of his three-hit game to finish the series with eight hits over the four games, including a pair of three-hit games with one on each day.

Ormonde would get the Pride a litle closer in the sixth inning as he'd launch a two-run home run to left field to make it 7-4 and set up a save situation for another MMU reliever in the seventh where Clarke would bring the tying run to the plate with back-to-back walks to start things off but Eric Kiewiet of the Mustangs would close the door for his second save of the season to clinch the 7-4 win and series victory for MMU.

Monday pitched four very strong innings in relief for the Pride to keep them within striking distance as the Santa Rosa, Calif. native went four shutout innings of two-hit ball with four strikeouts.

Clarke baseball will wrap up their full home slate on Tuesday when they are set to host their final non-conference games of the 2025 season as they play host to St. Ambrose University for a doubleheader slated to start at 3:00 p.m. CT.