Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
The Pioneers closed out the regular season with a double header split at Benedictine on Saturday. With Peru State's sweep of Missouri Valley, the Pioneers finish second in the West Division.
In Game 1, the Pioneers put together a rally with 2 outs and nobody on in the second inning. A Raven error was followed by a hit batsman and a single to bring home a run.
Dillon Moeller was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and
Ricco Moreno drilled a grand slam over the right field fence to give MNU a 5-0 lead. Benedictine answered with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning, and got within 1 with 2 runs in the sixth.
Clayton Brandt's RBI double in the top of the seventh put MNU up 6-4, and
Caleb Swartz worked his way out of trouble in the seventh to preserve a 6-5 victory.
Caleb Barnum got the victory, and
Dillon Moeller (2-2, 2 R, BB, HBP),
Ricco Moreno (1-3, R, HR, 4 RBI),
Clayton Brandt (2-4, 2B, RBI), and
Kyle Brown (1-3, R, RBI) led the offense.
In Game 2, Benedictine scored in each of the first 2 innings to take a 3-0 lead and the Pioneer offense couldn't muster a run. The Ravens scored again in the fifth, and Paul Heit scattered 7 hits for the complete game 4-0 shutout.
Clayton Brandt (2-3) had 2 hits for MNU.
The Pioneers are 24-18 (17-9 HAAC). The next game is Wednesday in St. Joseph, MO in the first round of the double elimination HAAC tournament. Time and opponent to be determined.
