Warriors earn split with Vikings
By Aaron Schneider
TUCSON, Ariz. – Michael Keeran cranked a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Waldorf College baseball team captured a 3-2 victory over Missouri Valley College during the opener of Tuesday’s doubleheader.
The Vikings (9-9) used a 10-run fifth inning en route to a 14-0 win in the nightcap.
Missouri Valley and the Warriors (3-9) squared off earlier this season on Feb. 27-28 when the Vikings swept a four-game weekend series at Marshall, Mo.
Waldorf’s Michael Keeran batted 1-for-3 for with a homer and two RBIs. Freshman Garrett Gillen also went 1-for-3, connecting for an RBI triple. Junior Kellan Mick, sophomores Jacob Tedesco, Eric Mallo, freshmen Mitchell Keeran and Jimmy Quirk each provided singles.
Missouri Valley’s Bryce Burdette notched two singles, going 2-for-4 in the loss. Jake Stafford, Jordan Rice, Andrew Skinner, Cody Price and Turner Herbek also produced singles.
Senior Trevor Bauer (1-0) secured the win after reliving the final two innings of the game. Bauer retired each of the six batters he faced, including striking out four.
Junior Dave Erickson started on the mound for the Warriors. Erickson tallied four strikeouts, walked one and allowed two runs off four hits in six innings of work. Waldorf’s pitching staff didn’t allow any extra-base hits during the opener.
Cody Price (0-1) was handed the loss. He struck out a batter and gave up one run in two and two-thirds innings. Temesh Lourens tossed the first four and two-thirds innings for the Vikings. Lourens finished with three strikeouts and three walks while surrendering two runs on five hits.
Rice and Price delivered RBI singles in the top of the first to give Missouri Valley a 2-0 lead.
Michael Keeran drove in Tedesco on a fielder’s choice in the third to pull the Warriors within on run.
Gillen tripled in a run during the fourth inning to tie the score at 2-all.
Michael Keeran led off the eighth, sealing the victory with a walk-off homer. The junior from Clear Lake leads Waldorf with three homers on the season.
Senior Elvin Nunez collected a double for the Warriors in the second game while Michael Keeran and junior Ryan Villarreal each added singles.
Jake Scribner turned in a 2-for-4 performance with a double and three RBIs. Stafford went 2-for-3 at the plate and contributed a two-run double. Rice hit 2-for-2 and delivered two run-scoring singles. Lucas Jacobi batted 1-for-2 with an RBI triple. Dylan Candaele and Jeremy Shull tallied two hits apiece to help the Vikings pound out 14 hits.
Rocky Liveoak (1-1) earned the win, tossing a three-hit shutout. He fanned six batters and issued six walks in seven innings on the mound.
Junior Bruce Mau (0-2) was tagged with the loss. He struck out three batters, walked six and relinquished four runs on five hits in four innings.
Waldorf freshman Michael Miller pitched one-third of an inning. Miller struck out a batter, walked one and gave up seven runs (four earned) on six hits.
Junior Dean Mick came in to relieve the final one and two-thirds innings for the Warriors. He recorded two strikeouts, a walk and allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits.
Price drove in Stafford on a sacrifice fly to put Missouri Valley on the board in the bottom of the first.
Stafford connected for a two-run double in the fourth to put the Vikings ahead 3-0. Shull singled in another run to create a four-run cushion.
Missouri Valley strung 10 runs together during the fifth inning. Scribner started the offensive eruption with an RBI double. Rice singled in another run, Jacobi ripped a two-run triple, Candaele contributed an RBI single, Scribner belted a two-run single, Herbek knocked in a run on a groundout and Rice added an RBI single.
The Warriors resume the Tucson Invitational on Thursday as they face Concordia University (8-10) at 3:30 p.m. (MST) and Olivet Nazarene University (8-6) at 6:30 p.m.