Situational hitting key in Mustang wins over Mount Marty

Photo by Josie Dike, Morningside Sports Information Intern

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Morningside Baseball opened the floodgates in today's Great Plains Athletic Conference doubleheader with Mount Marty, scoring a combined 23 runs in the 9-6 and 14-5 wins. The Mustangs dethroned the Lancers as league leaders, taking partial possession of the title in the process.

Morningside got on the board early in game one of the day, as Eddie Brancato snuck a solo home run over the right field wall. 

The offense continued from there totaling 11 hits in the contest and hitting .407 as a team. Jayson Willers, Elijah Rude, and Brian Garcia all had two-hit games. Willers, Alex Calabrese, and Carter Ades each knocked doubles, and Willers and Elijah Rude joined Brancato with home runs. Willers had three RBIs, Rude had two, Ades had two, and Brancato and Garcia each had one.

Wade Canaday got the start and the win for the Mustangs, going 4.2 innings and striking out six. Canaday gave up seven hits for six runs, with four runs earned.

Logan Warkentin followed with 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out one and giving up two hits, setting the table for Calabrese to close the door. 

Calabrese earned his sixth save throwing a scoreless seventh inning, striking out one, walking one, and giving up a pair of hits.

Morningside saw its share of defensive plays to back its pitchers with Ades freezing runners after catching a fly ball to right and Calabrese ending a nail biter of a sixth inning by barehanding a roller to second and flipping it to Rude for the out. Willers one-upped the sophomore infielder turned closer, ending a bases-loaded threat in the seventh inning by initiating a home-to-first double play, grabbing a dribbler and stepping on the plate before throwing the batter out at first.

Defense continued to dazzle in game two, starting with a five-inning effort from Kai Purdy-Burton, striking out four batters and giving up six hits for five runs. Josh Pratt followed him with a scoreless four-inning outing, striking out one. Purdy-Burton was credited with the win, while Pratt picked up a four-inning save.

Pitchers for both teams had top 10-tier plays backing them, as Aiden Bishop had a pair of sliding catches to eliminate opportunities to run in left field and middle infielders picked up screaming grounders throughout the game. Mount Marty's Braeden Cordes robbed Morningside of more than one hit, making plays deep in the gap and firing the ball to Bodi Wallar, who made Gumby-like stretches at first.

While defense was on display, situational hitting reigned supreme in game two for the day, as the Mustangs scored nine runs with two outs, getting in scoring position early and often, then executing to get the run across the plate. 

Six Morningsiders had multiple hit games, with Rude and Ryan Kiolbassa both having three-hit games. Hope, Calabrese, Nick Grajeda, and Bishop had a pair of hits each. 

Hope had the game's big hit, hitting a triple to right field as the second batter of the second inning. Willers, Rude, Bishop and Calabrese all had doubles in the contest.

Bishop knocked in a game-high three RBIs, while Hope, Rude, and Calabrese each had two. Brancato, Grajeda, Kiolbassa, and Garcia each had an RBI. 

Calabrese showed his wheels as he swiped home, advancing as a Garcia stolen base attempt drew a throw to second. Garcia safely retreated to first while Calabrese was able to slide into home before the Lancer catcher could apply a tag.

Morningside is back on the diamond tomorrow, playing Mount Marty again at 1:30 p.m. with the final game of the series following.