Baseball Splits with Graceland; Heads into Heart Tournament as the Second Seed

LAMONI, Iowa — Mount Mercy split their final doubleheader against Graceland on Saturday at Chase Stadium, securing a 12-8 victory in the first game before narrowly falling 8-7 in the second.

In the opener, the Mustangs showcased their offensive prowess with three home runs and nine walks. Mount Mercy took an early lead in the first inning as Derek Einertson reached on a walk and scored on Christian Graves' RBI single after Kade Knock reached on an error, making it 1-0. The second inning saw Drew Terpins hit a home run, followed by Einertson's two-run homer after DJ Harris walked, pushing the lead to 4-0. However, Graceland countered with five runs, seizing a 5-4 lead by the end of the inning.

Mount Mercy regained control in the third inning, where Lane Spieker and Nick Meyer walked, both scoring on a pitcher error. Terpins then singled, driving in Griffen Bushnell. A groundout by Einertson added another run, putting the Mustangs back on top, 8-5. Sam Wiese extended the lead in the fourth with a two-run homer, bringing home Spieker after a walk, making it 10-5. The Mustangs added another run in the fifth, with Chase Gerwig walking, stealing two bases, and scoring on Knock's groundout, pushing the score to 11-5.

Graceland managed to score in the sixth, trimming the deficit to 11-6, but the Mustangs answered back in the seventh with Gerwig scoring again after a walk and stolen base, with Knock driving him in. Graceland added two more runs in their half of the inning, finalizing the score at 12-8. Einertson highlighted his performance with a home run, driving in three runs and scoring twice. Wiese and Terpins also contributed significantly, with Wiese hitting a home run and recording two RBIs, while Terpins had a home run, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Cole Conner secured the win on the mound with eight strikeouts over five innings, despite allowing three earned runs.

In the second game, Mount Mercy jumped to an early lead again when Einertson and Knock drew consecutive walks, leading to Nick Meyer driving them in with a single. Tommy Taylor, a pinch runner, stole second and scored on Griffen Bushnell's double, putting the Mustangs ahead 3-0. However, Graceland struck back in the second inning, scoring seven runs through a series of singles, doubles, and walks, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Beno Olmeda, leaving Mount Mercy trailing 7-3.

The Mustangs managed to reduce the deficit in the third inning with a solo home run from Lane Spieker, making it 7-4. Despite the Mustangs' struggles to score in the subsequent innings, they rallied in the seventh with three runs. Christian Graves walked, followed by singles from Spieker and Meyer. Bushnell and Drew Terpins added RBI singles, closing the gap to 8-7. Unfortunately, the late effort wasn't enough to secure a win, and the game concluded with an 8-7 loss.

Spieker was a standout performer in the second game too, scoring two runs and hitting a home run. Meyer drove in two runs and collected two hits, while Bushnell contributed with two RBIs and a double. Terpins also made an impact with two RBIs. Olmeda led Graceland with two RBIs and a double, while Juan Guzman had an impressive four hits and one run driven in. Gabriel Perez pitched a complete game for Graceland, registering seven strikeouts over seven innings despite allowing seven earned runs.

The Mustangs end the regular season as the winner of the north division in the Heart, and will head into next week's conference tournament as the second seed.