Keith Staton was dominant in a game one victory, but Benedictine scored 4 runs in the bottom of the seventh in game 2 to salvage a split vs. the Pioneers on Saturday. The Pioneers took a 1-0 lead in the first game when
AJ Nunley and
Cody Fuqua hit back-to-back doubles in the third inning. MNU extended the lead in the fourth when
Kirk Nungester brought home
Tim Purdin with a sacrifice fly.
Josh Greer followed with an RBI triple and the Pioneers took a 3-0 lead. Staton allowed a single run in the bottom of the fourth, but that was all the Ravens could muster as MNU took the first game 4-1.
Tim Purdin (3-3, R, 2B) had 3 hits for MNU.
In game two, the Pioneers trailed by 2 runs after the first inning, but a big top of the fourth gave MNU the lead.
Tim Purdin was hit by a pitch, and
AJ Nunley walked.
Cody Fuqua,
Kirk Nungester, and
Kyle Segraves got consecutive base hits to take the lead, and a 2-out single from
Jarid Renzelman closed out the 5-run inning. The lead remained 5-2 as relievers
Kent Swanson and
Justin Huggins kept Benedictine off the board until the seventh. Back-to-back walks opened the inning, and the Ravens came to life. A double, a single, an error, and an intentional walk tied the game and loaded the bases with no outs. A grounder to third forced the runner at home and gave the Pioneers hope, but the next hitter's fly ball to center was deep enough to score the winning run, and MNU fell 6-5.
Kyle Segraves (2-4, R, 2 RBI, SB),
AJ Nunley (2-3, R), and
Cody Fuqua (4-4, R, 2B, RBI, SB) had multi-hit games for the Pioneers.
The Pioneers are 20-20 (13-11 HAAC). The next series will determine if the Pioneers will reach the conference tournament for the first time. MNU plays a 4-game set vs. Baker (14-20, 10-13) starting with a double header in Baldwin City on Friday. A double header in Olathe on Saturday will start at 1:00 PM and the new Dixon Stadium will be dedicated prior to the game.
