MNU needed to win to keep the season alive and they did so twice in Joplin in the conference tournament vs. Grand View and Peru State. In the early game, MNU scored 2 in the first on
Jason Jones' single-season record breaking 16th homer. In the bottom of the second, MNU hit for the cycle as
Kelvin Perez doubled,
Christian Quinones singled,
Lenzie Foley and
Logan Tills tripled, and
Jason Jones and
Jeremie Gonzalez homered in a 7-run inning. Grand View scored 3 in the third and 1 in the top of the fifth, but the Pioneers put the game away with a 9-run bottom.
Jason Jones launched his third homer of the game in the sixth to make it 19-4, and MNU cruised to a 19-8 victory.
Emilio Gonzales gutted out 8 innings on 149 pitches with 9 strikeouts for the win. And
Jason Jones (3-4, 4 R, 3 HR, 6 RBI, BB),
Kelvin Perez (3-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI),
Nelson Santiago (3-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB),
Christian Quinones (2-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI), and
Lenzie Foley (3-4, R, 3B, 5 RBI, BB) had multi-hit games.
In the night game vs. Peru State, the Bobcats took a 1-0 lead in the first, but
Christian Quinones' 2-out RBI double tied the game in the top of the second. Peru State took a 1-run lead with a tally in the second, but
Nelson Santiago gave MNU the lead for good with a 2-run homer in the top of the fourth.
Zach Stinnett pitched 4 scoreless innings in the middle of the game, and MNU put the game away in the eighth.
Lenzie Foley's 2-run single made it 6-3, and RBI singles from
Jason Jones and
Robert Berning put MNU up by 5.
Nelson Santiago's second homer of the game made it 9-6, but Peru State made a game of it in the bottom of the ninth. The Bobcats scored 3 runs and brought the tying run to the plate, but
Lenzie Foley entered and closed it out with a strikeout to preserve a 9-6 victory.
Zach Stinnett when 8.2 innings on 147 pitches for the win. Foley recorded a 1-out save. And
Robert Berning (2-4, 2 RBI, BB),
Jeremie Gonzalez (2-5),
Kelvin Perez (3-5, 2 R, 2B),
Nelson Santiago (2-4, 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI), and
Christian Quinones (3-5, R, 2 2B, RBI, 2 SB) had multi-hit games.
MNU is 41-14. The night game finished at 1:30 AM and the next game is Sunday at 10:00 AM vs. Baker. The winner faces Central Methodist at 1:00.
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