SIOUX CITY, IOWA – The freshman combination of infielder Eddie Brancato (FR/Arlington Heights, Ill.) (Arlington Heights, Ill.) and outfielder Hunter Hope (FR/Sioux City, Iowa) (Sioux City, Iowa) proved vital for Morningside College Wednesday, April 21.
Brancato singled and drove in a run. Hope continued a noteworthy first year in a Maroon uniform with a double and triple and three runs driven in to help lead head coach Adam Boeves squad to a 9-1 game two win over Heart of America foe Peru State College. Bringing the partisan Mustangs fan base to its feet, they were part of an eight-run outburst over the fourth through sixth frames.
Due to that attack, a four-person pitching sequence featuring freshman starter Wade Canaday (FR/Marshalltown, Iowa) (Marshalltown, Iowa), freshmen relievers Max Nickerson (FR/Blair, Neb.) (Blair, Neb.) and Quinton Holman (Nebraska City, Neb.), and junior reliever Jordan Kyle (JR/Lake Park, Iowa) (Lake Park, Iowa) was able to go right after the PSC line-up. They put together seven strikeouts, including three each from Canaday and Kyle, and surrendered just five hits and no earned runs in an 8-1 win.
Boeves bunch was on the cusp of a sweep, leading the opener 4-3 after a four-run second inning production, highlighted by freshman designated hitter Elijah Rude (SO/Hudson, Wis.)s (Hudson, Wis.) two-run bomb down the right-field line at Lewis and Clark Parks Mercy Field. However, the Bobcats answered with a run each in the fourth and sixth innings and a four-run rally in the seventh to win 9-4.
Mside, hitting the 20-win mark for the 14th time in the last 15 years, resumes a current eight-game home set Saturday, April 24. The University of Jamestown is the Mustangs guest for a 1 p.m. Great Plains Athletic Conference doubleheader.
