Long ball propels Mustangs to series win

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The Mount Mercy baseball team homered nine times in their Heart of America Athletic Conference series with Culver-Stockton over the weekend, recording 48 hits while taking three out of four games to win the set with the Wildcats at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex.

Kaimana Souza-Paaluhi hit the first home run of the weekend in the opening frame, giving the Mustangs an early lead. Mount Mercy added a run in the third and two in the fourth, but it wasn't until the sixth where the Mustangs exploded for seven runs to take a commanding 12-0 lead. Evan Paulus and Brett Swalve highlighted the frame with back-to-back jacks. Three batters later, Sam Funke went deep scoring David Mitchell for the final runs of the inning.

Nathan Pardini (5-2) allowed a leadoff single from the Wildcats, but gave up only two the rest of the way. He shut Culver-Stockton's offense down, walking two and striking out eight in six stellar innings of work. Nolan Frey pitched the seventh, giving up a run on two hits for the 12-1 win. Souza-Paaluhi went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Swalve also had three hits and Paulus drove in three runs.

After finding themselves down 2-1 heading to the bottom of the third inning in game two, the Mustangs got another big inning, scoring six runs on six hits. Paulus homered again, bringing home Tyler Dahm and Souza-Paaluhi. Funke doubled to right center setting up Trey Roberson's monster home run over the batter's eye in dead center. The Mustangs took a five-run lead into the sixth before the Wildcats answered with a solo home run of their own.

Mount Mercy won game two, 7-3, behind 5-1/3 strong innings from Joe Gabel (5-1), who struck out six while allowing just four hits. Jacob Lodge fanned two in the final 1-1/3 innings. Dahm, Souza-Paaluhi, and Paulus tallied two hits apiece, while Paulus and Roberson had three RBI each to lead the Mustangs.

Game one on Sunday featured 17 runs and 21 hits between the two teams. Culver-Stockton (17-26, 10-18) jumped out to 3-0 lead in the first inning and never surrendered it. Mount Mercy threatened on multiple occasions. In the bottom of the first, Paulus homered for the third time this weekend and the Mustangs started the fourth with four consecutive hits and cut the deficit to one, 5-4. The Wildcats answered with two in the fifth and the sixth. A clutch, pinch-hit RBI double to right center off the bat of Brandon Bickford brought the Mustangs to within one, 9-8, for the second time. Culver-Stockton's closer, Andrew Fay, sat Mount Mercy down in order in the seventh to had Mount Mercy the 9-8 defeat.

Jackson Bennett (0-3) pitched three innings, giving up five runs on six hits. Tyler Stern, Kale Orman, and Carter Lawler came on in relief, giving up just four combined hits and striking out seven while keeping the game within reach. Casey Sole, Souza-Paaluhi, and Paulus recorded two hits apiece with Paulus scoring twice.

The series finale also proved to be an offensive contest. Mount Mercy had another big inning, scoring six in the first and chasing the Wildcats' pitcher after just 1/3 of an inning. The Mustangs batted around in that frame, getting RBI singles from Kyle Moeder, Andrue Henry, Bickford, and Drake Frazier. Solo bombs from Swalve in the second and Souza-Paaluhi in the fourth extended Mount Mercy's lead to 8-3. Culver-Stockton put up their biggest inning of the weekend, forcing Ryne Schooley (4-2) out of the game. The Wildcats scored four in the fifth to cut Mount Mercy's lead to one, 8-7. The Mustangs countered with three in their half of the inning. Jacob Lodge earned his third save of the year, pitching two scoreless innings to give the Mount Mercy the 11-7 win.

Swalve went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI. Henry also went 3-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI. Sole and Frazier totaled two RBI, respectively.

Mount Mercy (28-17, 17-11) hosts William Penn (24-18, 13-15) on Friday and Saturday, April 29-30, for their home and regular season finale the Plaster Athletic Complex. First pitch is slated for 1:00 pm each day, with Senior Day festivities also planned on Saturday.