Mustangs drop three of four in Arizona, hope to make home debut next weekend

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Mount Mercy's trip to Arizona opened with a win over Benedictine Mesa, but the final three games of the series against the Redhawks didn't go their way as the Mustangs returned to Iowa looking ahead to a potential home series next weekend at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex.

Mount Mercy built a 5-0 lead through four innings and cruised to an 8-3 victory over Benedictine Mesa on Thursday. Tyler Dahm hit a two-run homer in the third, Dalton Hews a two-run double in the fourth, and Joel Vaske plated two more with a triple in the ninth to power the Mustangs. Kyle Lehmann threw seven solid innings to get the win, allowing one earned run on two hits.

A five-run fourth inning was the difference in game one of Friday's doubleheader, won by the Redhawks, 7-1. Mount Mercy collected seven hits, including two each by Vaske, Zach Barden, and Trey Roberson, but stranded seven baserunners. Brady Schiesl took the loss after surrendering six earned runs on seven hits over three innings. Ashton Schwab stopped the bleeding with four strong innings out of the bullpen, holding Benedictine Mesa to three hits and one run.

The Redhawk offense did it again in the nightcap, getting to the Mustang pitching staff for 13 runs on 10 hits in a 13-3 victory. Again the story was Mount Mercy's inability to push runners across as the Mustangs left nine runners on base. A run-scoring single by Hews in the fifth and a two-run triple in the seventh by Ryan Knowlton accounted for Mount Mercy's three runs.

The series finale on Saturday featured a combined 22 runs and 26 hits, but it was the Redhawks that pushed through for a 16-6 win. A five-run fourth and seven-run fifth put the game out of reach. Mount Mercy plated a run in the third on a Dahm base hit. They scored three times in the sixth thanks to a Riley Rundquist two-run double and RBI single by Knowlton. Rundquist plated another run with a base hit an inning later and the Mustangs ended the scoring when Brandon Bickford drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth.

Weather permitting, Mount Mercy (2-6) will host a three-game set with St. Francis (Ill.) on Feb. 25-26 at the Plaster Athletic Complex. The Mustangs and Fighting Saints will play two on Saturday beginning at 1:00 pm, then have a nine-inning contest slated for Sunday at 1:00.