Mside battles at GPAC Championships

CRETE, NEB. – A back-and-forth elimination game thriller went down to the final strike Saturday, May 7.

Head coach Adam Boeve's Morningside University club, wrapping up their stay at Doane University's Ballfield Complex as part of the 2022 Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships, pushed the host and regular-season Tigers, the overall tournament top seed, to the wire. Sophomore second baseman Eddie Brancato (Arlington Heights, Ill.) ripped a pair of doubles among three hits and two RBI; junior first baseman Elijah Rude (Hudson, Wis.) tacked on three hits; and sophomore Zach Hefty (Baltic, S.D.) crossed home plate three times during the day's final contest.

Even with 12 hits and nine runs to their credit which included a 7-4 lead midway through, it wasn't enough to overcome Doane. Trailing 10-8 in the bottom of the ninth after DU concluded a six-run rally over the final three frames by plating two with two outs in their half, Boeve's bunch was ready to counter. They loaded the bases with one out but only managed one tally.

Morningside started the weekend with a tough-luck 8-2 loss to the University of Jamestown in game one. A six-run fifth was the difference. Mside answered during Saturday's first contest, knocking off Midland University 5-4. Senior outfielder Hunter Hope (Sioux City, Iowa), senior shortstop Carter Kratz (Vermillion, S.D.), and sophomore first baseman Aiden Bishop (Omaha, Neb.) each turned in two-hit games, with Hope driving in two.