Morningside uses Sunday sweep to split weekend GPAC set

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – A balanced attack of clutch hitting and strong pitching enabled Morningside College to tally two key Great Plains Athletic Conference victories Sunday, April 18.

The Mustangs, looking to shake off recent doldrums of six losses in eight outings, turned to the underclassman mound tandem of freshmen Justin Lottman (FR/Lincoln, Neb.) (Omaha, Neb.) and Wade Canaday (FR/Marshalltown, Iowa) (Marshalltown, Iowa) to guide them out of the recent impasse. The rest were just what head coach Adam Boeve and his team needed. Lottman went six and a third in the opener at Mercy Field at Lewis and Clark Park, striking out four and surrendering just two runs on five hits. Canaday fired five strikeouts in seven innings on the hill and allowed visiting Midland University just two tallies on eight hits.

With that type of pitching in its corner, the Maroon offense raked the Warrior staff to the tune of 14 runs on 14 hits over 16 frames. Five-run innings bolstered the attack on both ends to spotlight a 6-2, 8-2 doubleheader broom job. Senior infielder Jordan Pierce (SR/Carlisle, Iowa) (Carlisle, Iowa) nearly produced enough for the entire roster, belting a grand slam and double in game two for five RBI and going one-for-two with an RBI in game one. Freshman catcher Gunnar Kale (FR/Merced, Calif.) (Merced, Calif.) and freshman outfielder Hunter Hope (FR/Sioux City, Iowa) (Sioux City, Iowa) each collected a pair of safeties in the opener, and Kale posted a two-bagger in the nightcap.

Mside moved to 19-24 overall and 11-9 in the league with the two victories in front of a happy and sun-splashed afternoon crowd. Midland used a pair of late-inning comebacks Saturday, April 17, to begin the series, plating three over the fifth and sixth of game one and an eight-run outburst in the seventh inning of game two, to claim 3-2 and 9-7 triumphs.

The Mustangs continue a current eight-game home set Wednesday, April 21. Peru State College of the Heart of America Conference visits L&C Park/Mercy Field for a 2 p.m. twin bill.

NOTES: Mside goes into the final stages of the conference race tied for fifth but just a half-game out of a tie for third … They resume league play Saturday, April 24, hosting the University of Jamestown in a doubleheader.