Mustangs sweep first two games, will finish series on Monday

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The Mount Mercy baseball team swept Graceland on Saturday and will wrap up the four-game series with the Yellowjackets on Monday after cold temperatues forced Sunday's postponement. First pitch on Monday will be at 1:00 pm at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex.

After taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning of Saturday's opener, the Mustangs needed extra innings to defeat the Yellowjackets, 4-3. Jeremy Figueroa stole third base and scored on a throwing error by the catcher for Mount Mercy's first run in the opening frame. Matthew Murphy blasted a two-run, opposite field homer to make it 3-0 in the second.

Graceland got an unearned run in the third and a two-run single in the fourth to even things up at 3-3. It stayed that way until Joel Vaske walked it off with a drive over the center field fence in the bottom of the eighth. Murphy finished with two hits and two RBI. Kale Orman and Joe Gabel combined for 4-1/3 innings of scoreless relief while Jon Cross picked up the win after getting the final out in the eighth.

A five-run first inning put game two out of reach early as the Mustangs cruised to an 8-2 victory. Vaske had an RBI double, Ryan Knowlton ripped a two-run double, Zach Barden drilled a run-scoring triple, and Kyle Moeder brought home a run with a single to center in that powerful first frame. Tyler Dahm and Evan Paulus plated runs in the second and Mount Mercy tacked on an unearned run in the third to make it 8-0. Graceland scored on a bases-loaded walk and wild pitch in the seventh.

Dahm, Knowlton, and Barden had two hits apiece for the Mustangs. Ashton Schwab (2-0) threw 4-2/3 innings of scoreless ball, allowing just three hits while striking out five and walking three. Tyler Stern struck out four over the final 2-1/3 innings.