YANKTON, S.D. — The Hesston College baseball team battled through four games on the road February 14–15 but came up short in a weekend series against Mount Marty.
Game 1 – Mount Marty 7, Hesston 2
The opener remained scoreless through three innings before Mount Marty broke through in the fourth with a two-run inning. After five quiet frames offensively, the Larks responded in the sixth.
Manuel Aranguren singled and RJ Cruz worked a walk to set the table. With two outs, Trentis Lane doubled to drive in both runners and tie the game at 2–2.
The Lancers answered immediately in the bottom half. A walk and hit batter sparked the rally before C. Freeman launched a grand slam to give Mount Marty the lead. A solo home run later in the inning extended the margin to 7–2.
Lane finished with a double and two RBIs, while Federico Moran, Noel Cesena, Cooper Huff and Aranguren each recorded a hit.
Game 2 – Mount Marty 16, Hesston 7
The Larks showed offensive firepower in game two but were undone by a 13-run sixth inning from Mount Marty.
Hesston erased an early deficit in the sixth. Corbin Broyles singled to lead off the inning, and Kreyton Johnson followed with a two-run home run to tie the game. Cole Steinrich doubled and later scored on an RBI single from Chris Cammllari to give the Larks a brief 4–3 advantage.
Mount Marty responded with a decisive bottom half, stringing together hits and capitalizing on defensive miscues to plate 13 runs and swing the momentum for good.
Johnson led the way with two hits and two RBIs, while Lane added a three-run homer later in the contest. Cammllari and Steinrich each collected multiple hits as Hesston totaled nine in the game.
Game 3 – Mount Marty 4, Hesston 2
In Sunday's first game, Mount Marty used early home runs to secure a 4–2 victory.
A solo homer in the first and a two-run shot in the second gave the Lancers a 3–0 edge. Hesston chipped away in the fourth when Cammllari singled home Steinrich to make it 3–1.
The Larks added another run in the fifth. Moran doubled and later scored on an RBI single from Cesena to trim the deficit to 3–2.
Despite collecting nine hits, Hesston was unable to push across the tying run. R. Cruz and Steinrich each had two hits, while Cesena finished with two hits and an RBI.
Game 4 – Mount Marty 14, Hesston 4
Mount Marty jumped out early in the series finale, scoring four runs in the first inning and adding two more in the second to take control.
Hesston broke through in the fourth when Moran doubled and later scored on a defensive miscue to make it 8–1. The Larks added two runs in the fifth. Aranguren doubled and scored on an RBI groundout by R. Cruz, and another run crossed on an error to cut the deficit to 8–3.
Mount Marty responded with three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to pull away.
Aranguren recorded two hits in the finale, while Moran added a double. The Larks finished with six hits in the game.
