Busy weekend starts with baseball split

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Morningside hoped to make up some ground on league-leading Concordia and Doane after falling out of the top spot earlier this week. Mother Nature and opponent Midland University both had other plans as a weather system wreaked havoc on the weekend's schedule for the Great Plains Athletic Conference, with only four teams active as the rest pushed their games to next week, and Midland forcing Morningside to settle for a split, with the Mustangs losing game one 6-5 before winning the nightcap 11-7.

Morningside's offense early in game one was limited to a solo home run for Alex Calabrese in the second inning before the Mustangs' bats came alive in the seventh inning, starting with a Brian Garcia single with one out.

Garcia saw the second out recorded, and was nearly stranded as Hunter Hope hit a ball that would have counted the final out. Instead the umpires called a balk, advancing Garcia to second and giving Hope another chance.

It was a chance that Hope took advantage of, driving the ball into the right center field gap for an RBI triple. Eddie Brancato was next at the plate, where he laced a single down the left field line to easily score Hope and bring Jayson Willers to the plate.

Willers, who holds a solid lead on the Mustangs' home run race, sent his 10th homer of the season over the right field wall, adding two RBIs to his team-leading total.

Morningside fans were left hanging as Midland changed pitchers and quickly recorded the final out of the game.

The Mustangs exacted their revenge early in game two, chasing Midland's starter after two-thirds of an inning in which Hope singled to left, getting thrown out as Brancato took first base on a fielder's choice. Willers moved Brancato over to second as he punched a single into left field. Elijah Rude, who had taken two walks in game one, remained patient at the plate, drawing another walk to move Brancato to third and Zach Hefty, in as courtesy runner for Willers, to second, bringing Morningside's designated hitter, Nick Grajeda, to the plate.

With bases loaded and one out, Grajeda drove a fly ball into shallow left field, freezing Morningside's runners as the Warriors made a play on the ball, trapping it against the grass. The hit, recorded as a fielder's choice, was deep enough to score Brancato for the game's first run, but shallow enough for Midland to get the force out of the speedy Hefty at third. 

A Ryan Kiolbassa infield single advanced the remaining runners, giving Aiden Bishop an RBI as he coaxed a walk. Calabrese lined a single into left field, scoring Grajeda and Kiolbassa, and moving Bishop to third. Garcia singled to the opposite field, scoring Bishop and prompting the pitching change and quickly concluding the inning.

Morningside hung another crooked number in the third inning, starting as Kiolbassa hit a leadoff single. Bishop reached on a dropped fly ball to right field, advancing Kiolbassa and bringing Calabrese to the plate in a sacrifice situation as the sophomore expertly executed a bunt.

With one out, Garcia stepped to the plate, flying out to left field, with Kiolbassa scoring on the sacrifice. Hope hit a double to left center field, scoring Bishop from second before a pickoff attempt sailed, allowing him to move to third. Brancato singled up the middle, scoring Hope before the inning came to a close.

In the bottom of the seventh inning it was more of the same, with Morningside scoring three runs without hitting more than a single as Bishop singled up the third base line, moving over on a Calabrese walk. A Garcia fly ball advanced Bishop, allowing Calabrese to take second behind him, with both runners scoring on a single for Hope. 

Brancato singled up the middle off of a new pitcher, moving Hope to third. Willers singled down the right field line, moving Brancato and scoring Hope before the final out of the inning was recorded.

Kai Purdy-Burton got the game two win for the Mustangs, pitching seven complete innings , striking out six. Josh Pratt threw 1.1 scoreless innings, setting the table for Calabrese to get the final two outs, including a strikeout, for his eighth save of the season.

Jackson Stephen threw three scoreless innings in game one for Morningside, striking out two batters.

Morningside plays its final home doubleheader on Sunday, hosting Dakota Wesleyan with Senior Day starting at 12:45 p.m. and first pitch to follow.