Harrison Helms' complete-game shutout,
Justin Huggins' relief effort, and
Ben Alison's walkoff homer were the keys to the Pioneers' sweep of Evangel on Tuesday. In game one, Helms held Evangel to 0 runs on just 3 hits while striking out 10 in seven innings. The Pioneers provided all the run support Helms needed in the 4th inning when Dave Staton led off with a hit-by-pitch.
Tim Purdin followed with a triple to deep right center field and scored on a sacrifice fly from
Josh Greer. The Pioneers added 3 more runs in the 5th, highlighted by a straight steal of home by pinch runner
Mason Lent. Lent was on 3rd with two outs, and the Evangel pitcher used a slow windup to deliver the pitch to the plate. Lent took off and scored easily, and the Pioneers took a 5-0 lead. The Pioneers added an unearned run in the 6th and Helms did the rest, winning 6-0.
Jarid Renzelman (3-4, RBI) and
Tim Purdin (1-2, R, 3B, RBI, BB) led the offense for the Pioneers.
In game 2, the Pioneers were in control until the 7th inning. A 4-run fourth gave MNU a 5-2 lead heading into the final inning. Starter
Keith Staton had been cruising, but back-to-back hit batsmen brought the tying run to the plate. The hitter drove a slider into the left-center field gap and it carried out of the park to tie the game. Lefty
Justin Huggins was called in from the bullpen, and the game went into extra innings. The Pioneers put at least one runner in scoring position in the 7th, 8th, and 10th innings, but were unable to come up with a big hit until the 11th.
Ben Alison drove the second pitch of the inning over the right-center field fence, and MNU completed the sweep. Huggins allowed 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 6 in 4.2 innings for the victory. And
Kyle Segraves (3-5, 2 R, 3B, RBI, BB),
Ben Alison (2-4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB),
Jarid Renzelman (2-4, 2B),
Tim Purdin (1-3, 2 RBI, BB), and
Josh Greer (2-4) led the offense.
The Pioneers are 15-17 (8-8 HAAC). The next game is Friday at home vs. Graceland (11-18, 7-7) at 1:00 PM.
*for box scores and play-by play reports, click "details" on the schedule page.
