Mustangs, Defenders split in battle of third place teams

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – The Mustangs and Defenders entered Friday tied for third in the GPAC, and the two teams remain tied after splitting a doubleheader in Sioux Center Friday night.

Morningside picked up a 5-1 win in game two, but as game two went into extra innings, it was the Defenders who earned a 2-1 win.

The Mustangs struck first in game one with a Kennedee Jones single to make it 1-0. Jones added two more RBI in the third on a home run to make it 3-0. She finished the first game a triple shy of the cycle with, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. 

Dordt scored one run in the fourth on a solo home run, but starting pitcher Bralen Biddlecome was cruising through the lineup otherwise. She allowed three hits and one run in seven complete innings, earning the win. 

Mackenna Sidzyik added two insurance runs with a double to center field in the sixth. Kennedy Wineland and Biddlecome tallied two hits apiece in the victory, and Biddlecome had a double. 

Jones carried that game one momentum into game two, hitting a solo homer to get the scoring started in the second inning. The Defenders responded immediately by scoring a run in the bottom of the second.

From there, it was a pitching duel. Morgan Secora pitched the complete game for the Mustangs, striking out six batters over seven and two-thirds innings. The Mustangs couldn't scratch a run across, and the Defenders took advantage in the bottom of the eighth to steal a win.

Jones went 2-for-3 in game two, driving in Morningside's lone run on the homer in the second. Secora doubled and Paige Schuster and Emma Barwick added base hits. 

Morningside is back in action Saturday against Northwestern. The doubleheader is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start in Orange City.