Game 1 - Pioneers 19... Carthage College 8 (5 Innings)
It would appear as if the MCC Pioneer baseball team has been spending months practicing at 9:00 AM on Saturday mornings. The Pioneers struck for 19 runs on 12 hits after giving up 7 runs in the 1st inning and waltzed to a 19-8 win over Carthage College.
RF Ian Krump (Rapid City, SD), LF Chase Reimer (Gillette, WY), and DH Jake Lacey (Gillette, WY) had huge mornings at the plate. Krump was 2-2 at the plate with a home run, 5 RBI, and 3 runs scored while outfield mate Reimer had 3's all across the board. Reimer was 3-3 (2 doubles) with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. Lacey was 2-3 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored.
The Pioneers benefitted from 7 walks in the game as well and scored 14 unanswered runs after trailing 7-0. 1B Kaleb Breeze (West Valley City, UT) chipped in with a 1-3 effort at the plate that included 3 RBI and a run scored. SS Jaeden Jordahl (Billings, MT) scored runs on all 3 of his plate appearances, walking twice, and adding 2 RBI. 3B Tim Holyk (1-3, 2 RBI, 3 Runs).
MCC plated 9 runs in the 3rd and another 5 runs in the 5th. On a sour note, the Pioneers committed 5 errors in the game. Because of the errors, Pioneer pitchers allowed only 3 earned runs in the contest.
Bo Hays (Bozeman, MT) got the start and pitched 3.0 innings. He gave up 7 runs on 5 hits, walked 4, and had 4 strikeouts. Jay Neugebauer (Rapid City, SD) pitched the final 2.0 innings and gave up a run on 2 hits. He also struck out 4 batters.
Game 2 - Pioneers 11... Madison College 14
The MCC Pioneers let an 8-5 lead slip away late as Madison College scored 9 runs over the final 2 innings to take a high scoring 14-11 win Saturday night in Tucson. MCC scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th but it wasnt enough as the Pioneer had to settle for another split in Arizona.
1B Kaleb Breeze had a big night for the Pioneers going 4-5 (2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R) and 2B Tyler Tenney was the only other player with multiple hits (2-4, RBI, Run). Unfortunately the Pioneers struck out 10 times on the afternoon. 3B Tim Holyk (1-4, 2B, 3 RBI) helped out as well.
Caeden Riley (Torrington, WY) pitched 3 innings in the afternoon and gave up 4 runs on 5 hits. That included 6 walks and Riley did not record a strikeout. Noah Aliff (Centralia, WA) pitched the next 3 innings and gave up 5 runs on 6 hits with 2 strikeouts and 3 walks. Josh Banderob (Great Falls, MT) struggled in his 0.1 innings with 4 runs on 2 hits and a strikeout. Lane Neill finished the final 0.2, striking out one.
The Pioneer will be back at it on Sunday with a doubleheader against Rainy River CC at 2:30 MST and Concordia U at 5:30 PM. MCC is 10-9 on the 2022 season.