Baseball Splits High-Scoring Doubleheader With Clarke

Marshall, Mo., (March 11, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College baseball team finished a Heart of America Athletic Conference home series against Clarke (Iowa), Monday afternoon at Indian Foothills Park.  The Vikings earned a split of the doubleheader, earning a 20-19 comeback victory in game two.

Missouri Valley won the second game after rallying from a deep deficit late in the contest.  Trailing by a 10-3 score going into the fifth inning, Junior Pitcher Caleb Bergman (Alma, Mo.) took down Clarke in order, ending the team's at-bat with a strikeout.  The bottom half of the inning featured a pair of walks earned by Junior First Baseman Joe Hedger (Logan, Iowa) and Freshman Leftfielder Mason Baer (Roselle, Ill.).  Junior Designated Hitter Gino Gazzillo (Steger, Ill.) came up next, and knocked out a three-run homer to cut the deficit down to 10-6.  The Pride responded, and increased their advantage in the sixth inning, using four hits and one error to bring home three runs and make it a 13-6 score.  The Vikings rallied again in the bottom of the sixth, as Senior Shortstop Josias Mogollon (Bloomfield, Iowa) brought home the first run of the at-bat with a bases-loaded walk.  Hedger followed with driving home two runners after reaching on an error.  Later, Junior Third Baseman Jayden Mah (Nanaimo, British Columbia) singled to bring home Mogollon, then another runner came home after Senior Rightfielder KJ Hartline (Windsor, Colo.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.  Sophomore Catcher Masayoshi Hattori (Tokyo, Japan) capped the rally with a groundout that scored Baer from third, and MVC closed the gap to 13-12.

Clarke produced from the plate once again in the top of the seventh, this time scoring six runs on six hits.  Bergman ended the CU at-bat with an inning-ending strikeout to strand one runner but the Pride advantage sat at 19-12.  Senior Centerfielder Ivory Daniels (Little Rock, Ark.) opened the bottom half of the inning with a double, followed by a Mogollon single and Hedger walk to load the bases.  Baer brought home the first pair of runners with a single, while a Freshman Second Baseman Roel Colchado (San Antonio, Texas) single allowed another run to come home.  Junior Pinch Hitter Ruben Fernandez (Madrid, Spain) continued the rally with a two-run single, and Daniels kept the production going with an RBI single.  A third-straight single was hit, this time from Mogollon to score Fernandez, to tie the teams at 19-19.  Junior Pinch Hitter Luke Stoner (Rockford, Ill.) stepped up with two outs, and two runners on-base, and sent a single into leftfield.  Daniels went home on the play, and beat a throw from the outfield to score the winning run, and cap the 20-19 comeback victory.

Mogollon led with four hits, three runs scored and three RBI's, while Daniels had three hits, four runs and one RBI.  Baer totaled two hits, three runs scored and three RBI's, and Gazzillo added one hit, one run and three RBI's.  Hattori had two hits and one RBI, and Sophomore Pinch Runner Nick Jeffries (Jefferson City, Mo.) scored twice.  Bergman picked up the win, going 3.2 inning in relief.  Missouri Valley finished with 18 hits and six walks.

Game one featured 11 hits and 17 runs scored for Missouri Valley, but the team fell by a final score of 27-17.  Hartline finished with six RBI's in the game, to go with two hits and three runs scored, while Daniels leadoff with a homer in the top of the first inning, and finished with two hits, two runs and one RBI.  Mogollon scored three runs, and Baer added two this, three runs and one RBI.  Hedger totaled two hits, two runs and one RBI.

The split puts Missouri Valley at 7-10 overall and 1-7 in the Heart.  Clarke moves to 7-12 on the season and 3-1 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking baseball team hosts William Woods (Mo.) in a non-conference, 9-inning game, Tuesday at 3 p.m., at Indian Foothills Park.

Game 1 Box Score-Click Here

Game 2 Box Score-Click Here

ABOUT MISSOURI VALLEY COLLEGE

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.