Late Nixon Homerun Gives MVNU Game Two Win Over Marian

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio. – The Mount Vernon Nazarene University baseball team (16-18, 12-12) hosted Marian University (18-17, 13-11) for the final two games of the series at the Cougar Baseball Field on Tuesday, April 9.

In the first game, Marian started strong taking a 5-0 lead in the first inning with a solo home run, a three-run homer, and a sacrifice fly. Casey Kalman countered with a solo homer in the bottom of the first, narrowing the score to 5-1. Kaid Carpenter’s RBI double in the second cut the score to 2-5. Marian added to its lead with two more home runs in the third inning and an RBI single in the seventh, making it 8-2. In the bottom of the seventh, Zackary Hoop’s RBI and Rider Minnick’s two-run homer brought MVNU closer, but it still trailed 5-8. Marian scored again in the ninth and would go on to win by a score of 9-5.

In the second matchup, Marian once again asserted itself early by taking a 3-0 lead in the opening inning courtesy of a three-run homer. MVNU gained momentum in the bottom of the third, tallying runs through Ryan Willoughby’s RBI single, Kalman’s sacrifice fly RBI, Brady Lester’s RBI single, and Joe Poremsky’s RBI grounder to take a 4-3 lead. Marian responded swiftly, scoring a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to regain a 6-4 advantage. MVNU fought back with Blaine Keener’s RBI single and Hogan Heck’s two-run RBI single to surge ahead 7-6. Marian leveled the score at 7-7 in the top of the sixth, but Johnny Nixon’s solo homer in the bottom of the inning gave MVNU the lead back at 8-7. Cruz McFadden preserved the 8-7 win for MVNU by pitching a scoreless seventh inning on the mound.

What’s Next:

MVNU baseball will face off against Spring Arbor University in a home Crossroads League doubleheader on Friday, April 12. The series begins at 2:00pm.