Baseball Suffers Saturday Defeats to William Penn

Marshall, Mo., (March 22, 2025)-  The Missouri Valley College baseball team finished a home Heart of America Athletic Conference series against William Penn (Iowa) with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader at Indian Foothills Park.  The Vikings lost both games, falling in extra-innings in the opener.

Game one started with Junior Pitcher Tanner Duncan (Kennett, Mo.) striking out three batters in the top of the first inning, then belting a solo homer to send Missouri Valley in front.  Duncan then used a double-play started by Freshman Shortstop Sota Suzuki (Aichi, Japan) in the top of the second to keep William Penn scoreless.  Missouri Valley moved ahead in the bottom of the second inning, as Junior Centerfielder Mason Mitchell (Littleton, Colo.) singled to score Freshman Catcher Jaozef Del Rosario (Toronto, Canada) and make it a 1-0 score.  Duncan struck out two more batters in the third, facing the minimum.  The bottom half of the inning featured a solo homer from Junior Rightfielder Pablo Arnaud (Santo Domingo, Dominica, Republic) to open the MVC rally.  Later in the inning, Freshman Second Baseman Rui Watanabe (Nagasaki, Japan) was hit with the bases loaded to score Suzuki, then Mitchell knocked a two-run double, scoring Rosario and Senior First Baseman Joe Hedger (Logan, Iowa) to give the Vikings a 6-0 advantage.

William Penn cut into its deficit with a solo homer in the top of the fourth, then scored another run in the top of the fifth, on a sac-fly to bring the gap down to 6-2.  The Statesmen put together a long rally in the top of the sixth, scoring four runs on three hits to tie the contest at 6-6.  After a scoreless bottom of the sixth, WPU took a lead in the top of the seventh, using a pair of solo homers to hold an 8-6 advantage.  Hedger opened the bottom of the seventh by being hit, and Senior Pinch Hitter Jayden Mah (Nanaimo, British Columbia) tied the game with a two-run homer.  Missouri Valley eventually loaded the bases with one out, but could not bring home the winning run, and the contest went into extra-innings.  William Penn put together a two-out rally, scoring four runs before MVC could get out of the inning.  Trailing by a 12-8 score, the Vikings tried to make a comeback with two outs.  Watanabe and Mitchell both singled, and Duncan cleared the bases with a three-run homer.  However, Missouri Valley was unable to extend the contest, and fell, 12-11.

Duncan finished with three hits, two runs scored, four RBIs and two homers.  Mitchell had four hits, one run and three RBIs, while Bell added three hits.  Del Rosario totaled two hits and two runs scored, and Mah finished with one hit, one run and two RBIs.

William Penn jumped out to an early lead in the second game, scoring three runs on three hits and one error.  Missouri Valley answered with production from the plate in the bottom half, as Duncan hit a run-scoring double, and Arnaud came through with a two-run homer to tie the contest at 3-3.  The Statesmen jumped back in front in the top of the second inning, while MVC responded with a rally in the bottom half.  Rosario had an RBI single and Duncan added a two-run homer to push the Vikings ahead, 6-3.  William Penn rallied in the third, scoring four runs, then added another three runs in the fourth.  After a homer from Sophomore Catcher Masayoshi Hattori (Tokyo, Japan) in the bottom of the fourth, WPU scored five more runs in the top of the fifth.  Mah knocked out a solo homer in the bottom half of the fifth inning.  The sixth inning included five more runs for William Penn, followed by one more run in the seventh.  Missouri Valley fell, 22-11.

Duncan had two hits, three runs scored and three RBIs.  Mitchell totaled three hits and three runs, while Arnaud added one hit, one run and two RBI's.  Both Junior Second Baseman Jacob Spear (Oakwood, Ill.) and Mah had one hit, one run and one RBI.

Missouri Valley fell to 9-15 overall and 5-7 in the conference.  William Penn improved to 13-11 on the season and 6-6 in the Heart.

Up next, the Viking baseball team will travel to Kansas City, Mo., for a non-conference game with Avila (Mo.), Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Game 1 Box Score-Click Here

Game 2 Box Score-Click Here

About Missouri Valley College

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.