Mustangs sweep Statesmen, fall to Vikings

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Mount Mercy hosted a pair of Heart of America Athletic Conference softball doubleheaders over the weekend, picking up a pair of one-run victories over William Penn on Saturday before dropping both games of Sunday's set with 12th-ranked Grand View at Busse Field.

Sam Lee doubled and drove in a pair of runs and Keily Ulatowski also had a double and a run batted in during a 5-4 win in Saturday's opener. Jayna Witzany surrendered two earned runs on five hits while striking out five and walking five to get her seventh victory of the season.

Michelle Mack's run-scoring single scored Lee in the bottom of the seventh to give the Mustangs a 9-8, walkoff win in game two. Trailing 5-1 in the fifth, Mount Mercy scored three runs in the frame, then Mikayla Fritz cleared the bases with a double in the sixth to put the Mustangs in front, 7-5. After the Statesmen tied the game in the top of the seventh, Mack came through in the bottom half to give Mount Mercy its sixth-straight win. Kalli Minger picked up win number five after allowing two earned runs on seven hits in seven innings.

Sunday's opener saw Grand View take a 3-0 lead into the seventh before run-scoring hits by Lee and Mack cut the deficit to one. Lee then scored on a passed ball to send the game into extra innings where Peyton Moffet's base hit scored Megan White with the game-winning run. Witzany (7-2) got the loss, giving up four earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and six walks in eight innings.

The Mustangs took their first lead of the day on Makenna Moenk's RBI single in the second before the Vikings scored five runs over the four innings to take a 5-1 lead into the seventh. A sacrifice fly by Jade Sharp got Mount Mercy closer in the bottom half, but it wasn't enough as Grand View held on for the 5-2 win. Minger (5-5) surrendered six hits and four earned runs in five innings while the Mustangs got scoreless innings from Madi Sprague and Annie Thomas out of the bullpen.

Mount Mercy (12-10, 6-2 Heart) hosts Graceland in a Heart doubleheader on Friday at 4:00 pm at Busse Field.