Missouri Valley takes twin bill from Waldorf
By Matt Oliver
MARSHALL, Mo. – Missouri Valley College swept the Waldorf College baseball team, winning by scores of 12-4 and 8-7 during Saturday’s doubleheader.
Bruce Mau led the Warriors (2-4) in the opener, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. The junior from Clovis, California, smashed a two-run homer while making his Waldorf debut.
“We put him in the leadoff spot and he gave us quality at-bats all day, which is good to see,” Waldorf coach Joe Tautges said.
Freshman Tim Pasiuk provided a single and pushed in a run with a bases-loaded walk. The Warriors finished with eight hits, receiving singles from freshmen Mitchell Keeran, Jimmy Quirk, junior Kellan Mick and sophomore Eric Mallo.
Austin Hulbert paced the Vikings (5-5), turning in a 3-for-4 plate performance with a three-run triple. Lucas Doerhoff went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, cranking a two-run homer and adding a two-run single. Jeremy Shull also went deep with a two-run shot as he batted 2-for-4.
Missouri Valley’s Jake Stafford collected a pair of singles, Bryce Burdette hit an RBI triple and Cody Price contributed an RBI single.
The Vikings produced eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. A two-out error proved costly for the Warriors. The miscue led to a run and Missouri Valley tacked on three more runs to cap the outburst.
“We just made way too many mistakes, defensively and even on offense with missed signs,” Tautges said. “We just didn’t execute. Our at-bats weren’t very good and we took too many pitches for strikes.”
Junior Michael Keeran (1-1) was hit with the loss. He struck out three batters, walked four and allowed eight runs (four earned) on seven hits in three and two-thirds innings.
Waldorf junior Dave Erickson gave up one run on one hit while pitching a third of an inning. Junior Dean Mick notched three strikeouts, issued one walk and yielded three runs on three hits in the final two innings.
Kevin Key (1-1) scored the win as he fanned seven, walked three and gave up four runs on six hits in five and two-thirds innings.
The Vikings went in front in the first inning as Burdette scored on a passed ball.
Waldorf went on top 2-1 following Mau’s two-run blast in the third.
Missouri Valley surged to a 9-2 lead in the fourth, plating eight runs on five hits and an error. Shull homered to lead off the inning. Doerhoff cracked a two-run single, Price provided an RBI single, Doerhoff scored on an error and Hulbert legged out a three-run triple.
Mau singled to score junior Tony Manna in the fifth. A two-run homer from Doerhoff boosted the Vikings to an 11-3 advantage in their half of the fifth.
Pasiuk drew a bases-loaded walk in the sixth. Burdette knocked in Missouri Valley’s final run with a sixth-inning triple.
The Vikings held on for the win in the nightcap, despite owning an 8-1 lead through five innings.
“Basically, it just comes down to our pitchers needing to give us a better chance to win,” Tautges said. “They need to do a better job of getting ahead of hitters and locating. If you leave balls up in the zone, they’re going to get hit when you play good teams.”
The bats came alive for the Warriors, who pounded out 15 hits in the hard-fought loss.
“Our approaches in the second game were a lot better,” Tautges said. “Guys were attacking early in the count and hitting fastballs.”
Mitchell Keeran went 3-for-4 at the plate. Michael Keeran hit 2-for-3 with an RBI single while Kellan Mick also finished 2-for-3 with an RBI sacrifice fly. Mau turned in a 2-for-4 effort with a run-scoring single and sophomore Jacob Tedesco added a pair of singles.
Manna hit a two-run single and Pasiuk also singled. Mallo contributed an RBI sac fly and drove in another run on a groundout. Waldorf stranded six base runners.
“Everybody contributed for the most part,” Tautges said. “We’re getting enough guys on base, but we just need to get them in.”
Turner Herbek powered Missouri Valley, going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer. Jordan Rice went 2-for-3 with an RBI double, Price batted 2-for-4 with a double and a run-scoring single while Stafford hit 2-for-3 with an RBI single.
Andrew Skinner ripped an RBI double for the Vikings. Burdette drove in a run with a single, Zach Roberts doubled while Doerhoff and Hulbert singled to give Missouri Valley 13 hits.
Sophomore Adam Kovash (1-1) was hit with the loss. He struck out two batters and surrendered six runs (five earned) on 11 hits in three innings.
Waldorf junior Ryan Villarreal worked the final three innings on the mound, finishing with two strikeouts, three walks and giving up two runs on two hits.
Logan Faber (1-0) picked up the win. Faber punched out five batters, walked one and allowed six runs on 12 hits in five and two-thirds innings. Jonathon Feeler earned the save, striking out one batter and yielding a run on three hits in one and one-third innings.
The Warriors struck first as Mick drove in freshman Garrett Gillen on a first-inning sac fly.
Missouri Valley tied the score in its half of the first following Skinner’s RBI double.
Rice knocked in a run with a third-inning double and an RBI single from Price gave the Vikings a 3-1 lead.
Missouri Valley tallied three runs behind four hits in the fourth. Run-scoring singles came from Burdette and Stafford. Burdette later scored on a passed ball.
The Vikings claimed an 8-1 advantage as Herbek launched a two-run homer in the fifth.
Seven hits ignited a five-run sixth as Waldorf trimmed Missouri Valley’s lead to 8-6. Michael Keeran belted an RBI single, Mallo drove in a run with a sac fly, Manna delivered a two-run single and Mau singled to score Tedesco.
A seventh-inning groundout from Mallo brought home Kellan Mick for the Warriors’ final run.
Four freshmen started in Saturday’s opener for Waldorf.
“There’s some growing room there,” Tautges said. “It’s going to take them a little bit to get used to the speed of the game. For the most part, all of our freshmen are playing well.”
Pasiuk went to work behind the dish, calling pitches in the full twin bill.
“He caught both games for us and did a tremendous job behind the plate,” Tautges said.
The Warriors close out the weekend series with Missouri Valley on Sunday, starting at 12 p.m.
Manna (0-1) will start on the mound in Game 1.
“I expect to get another good start out of Tony,” Tautges said.
Mau (0-0) has earned the nod on the hill in the second game of the doubleheader. The transfer from West Hills Community College will be making the first start of his collegiate career.
“It’s his first time throwing since high school, but he’s got good stuff,” Tautges said. “We’ll just kind of see how it goes. We’ve got enough left in the bullpen that I’m confident in getting a couple wins.”