Mustangs fall to Lancers in GPAC Tournament

YANKTON, S.D. — On Friday, the tenacious run of the Morningside University baseball team came to an end.

Mount Marty scored two late runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Mustangs 8-6 in the championship round of the Morningside bracket, co-hosted by the Lancers.

The Lancers struck first with a lead-off home run, but Morningside responded with three unanswered runs during the second and third innings. In the second inning, Sam Wilt had an RBI single, while Jaxon Bunkers drove in Lucas Blackmon with a sacrifice fly.

During the third frame, Michael Snyder singled in Delzell, making it a 3-1 lead. He had three hits in the tournament finale.

"These guys have been tough as nails with their resiliency," said head coach Adam Boeve. "They don't feel like they have to do everything themselves."

Morningside (35-14-1) then had an untimely third inning, as the Lancers responded with five runs of their own. However, the Mustangs again showed its grit late.

Two runs came across the plate during the seventh inning. Jacob O'Dell and Delzell scored on a defensive error by MMU, reeling the Mustangs back within a run.

Then, in the eighth inning, Sam Wilt tied the game at 6-6 with a solo home run over the left field fence.

"I'm certainly not surprised that this group stayed the course," Boeve said. "It just didn't work in our favor at the end."

Connor Woods had a three-hit game in the No. 8 hole. Other multiple hit recipients included two from Delzell and O'Dell.

Tyler Lawrence and Josh Pratt combined to strike out eight and walked three.

Morningside now awaits word to see whether it earns an at-large bid in the NAIA Tournament. The Mustangs had 35 wins this season, two more than last year's total of 33.

"This is a tough baseball bunch that deserves to play in the postseason," Boeve said. "These guys are very deserving of the season they put together. We finished second in a league that is very strong, and our league gets better and better every year."