Miller's Gem Not Enough as Morningside Sweeps Broncos
Hastings, NE – The Hastings College baseball team lost two tough games to one of the best in the Great Plains Athletic Conference on Saturday afternoon as Morningside won game one 10-1 and then won game two 2-0 in 10 innings out at Duncan Field.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 2 |
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final (10) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 3 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Hastings, NE – The Hastings College baseball team lost two tough games to one of the best in the Great Plains Athletic Conference on Saturday afternoon as Morningside won game one 10-1 and then won game two 2-0 in 10 innings out at Duncan Field.
The score line game one doesn't tell the tail of how close this game really was until the seventh. The Mustangs managed to pick up a run in the first without a hit while Hastings came right back taking advantage of a Mustang miscue as Dylan Otto singled home Jaden Stone to tie the game 1-1.
Turner Tinant was on the mound again and his knuckleball gave Morningside fits into the fifth. It was there where Morningside was able to finally get back-to-back doubles on Tinant to take a 3-1 lead and chase him from the mount. Alec Fichter came in and slowed the Mustang attack but the Bronco bats just couldn't find the timely hit in the fifth or the sixth as Morningside carried a slim 3-1 lead into the final inning. It was here where the flood gates opened as the Mustangs scored seven runs on six hits to put the game away.
Jace Valdez led the way in game one going 2-for-4. Tinant went 4.2 innings giving up just three runs on five hits.
Game two turned into a pitchers dual from the get go as Markus Miller and Kai Purdy-Burton went at it from the mound.
Neither team threatened until Elijah Rude of Morningside began the fifth with a lead-off double. This didn't make Miller flinch as he retired the next three batters he faced to keep it a 0-0 ball game. Miller then gave up a one out triple to Hunter Hope in the sixth but he induced a fly ball from Eddie Brancato and then Tristan Martinez threw a frozen rope from right to get Hope trying to tag from third.
Some more stellar defense from the Broncos came in the eighth when Brancato hit a grounder to short where Jace Valdez tried to cut the runner down moving to second but the ball arrived a bit late. Matt Lucero then noticed Aiden Bishop rounded third to try and score but he threw the ball to Kissler as he applied the tag to end the inning to keep it a 0-0 contest.
The game carried into the 10th inning as things looked similar to the eighth as Bishop singled and with two outs, Hope was intentionally walked. This time Brancato ripped a single to left to break the tie and eventually took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the 10th. Hastings did get runners on second and third but a strikeout ended the game and the Broncos' upset bid.
Hastings played well defensively but just couldn't get any offense going coming up with just one hit in the 2-0 game two loss.
Miller went 10.0 innings giving up just two runs while scattering 10 hits while striking out three.
Hastings falls to 11-23 (5-9) on the year and will be back in action with a critical doubleheader as Briar Cliff comes to town Saturday Apr. 15 with first pitch set for 1:00 pm out at Duncan Field.
