Mustangs walk off Mount Marty twice in double header opener

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – It took until the bottom of the seventh inning for Morningside to complete its comeback in both games of today's doubleheader with Mount Marty. The Mustangs walked off the opener 8-7 before coming back twice in a 5-4 nightcap.

A five-run second inning had Cade Nolan in line for the loss in game one, but the junior remained cool as he worked 5.1 innings and saw his team get back six of the seven runs. Nolan struck out four while giving up nine hits for four earned runs. 

Sam Hanson came in in relief, keeping the Lancers off the bases for the remaining 1.2 innings and collecting the win after Michael Snyder drove a single through the right side of the infield, moving Jacob O'Dell to third just in time for a Giacomo Crosetti double to the left field corner to score O'Dell and Snyder's courtesy runner, Nathan Thomas.

Crosetti had three RBIs in the contest, Connor Woods had two on a home run, and Snyder, O'Dell, and Luke Blackmon each had one.

Crosetti answered an early Mount Marty score with a two-run blast in the opening frame of game two, but the Lancers scored three runs across the third and fourth innings. Morningside answered with one run in the sixth as O'Dell doubled to left center, scoring Michael Delzell from first base. 

In the seventh inning, Hayden Hixon doubled to right center to lead off the inning, with Thomas replacing him as his courtesy runner. Snyder came in to pinch hit, singling to right center and scoring Thomas. Snyder was lifted for the speedy Kade Yasui, who moved to third as a ball went under the glove of the first baseman and scored as a ball skipped away from Mount Marty's catcher with bases loaded.

Zach Koelfgen got the win in game two, coming in for the final inning, in which he struck out two batters. Josh Pratt threw the sixth, getting two strikeouts of his own.

The sweep of the day has, temporarily at least, moved the Mustangs into second place in the Great Plains Athletic Conference standings and improved Morningside's guaranteed place in the final standings upon the conclusion of regular season play. 

The regular season for Morningside is set to conclude with a double header at 5 p.m. on Friday at Mount Marty. The Mustangs will then watch as the final standings fall into place as the rest of the league wraps up regular season play on Saturday.