GPAC

[Baseball] Long Ball Lifts Baseball to Sweep of Warriors

Doane Baseball capped off a hitter's weekend with a sweep of their doubleheader against Midland on Saturday. The Tigers won the opener, 10-9 in eight innings, which snapped an eight-game skid to the Warriors, and then took the nightcap, 25-11. Doane hit six home runs in game two, tying the school record they set the night before. For the weekend's four game, two against Mount Marty and two against Midland, the Tigers hit 17 home runs. With the sweep, the Tigers remain in first place in the GPAC. Game OneIn a roller coaster of a game, Doane needed extra innings to dispatch the hometown Warriors. Both teams hit four home runs in the game.The Tigers started the scoring with three runs in the 1st inning. Andy Theiler (JR/Arlington, Neb.) opened the scoring on the first pitch of the game, sending a blast to right field for a home run. Two batters later, Talon Little (JR/Lincoln, Neb.) joined the long-ball party with a solo home run. Joe Osborn (FR/Hickman, Neb.) followed with a double and scored on a single by Jaryn Nakamoto (SR/Aiea, Hawaii). Midland scored a run in the bottom of the 1st for their first run of the game.Doane added two runs in the 3rd inning to take a 5-1 lead. Lukas White (SO/Castaic, Calif.) doubled to open the inning and scored on a single by Little. Nakamoto drove in his second run of the game on a fielder's choice as Little beat a throw to the plate.Midland came back with four runs in the bottom of the 3rd to tie the game. They took the lead with a two-out, two-run home run in the 4th.In the 6th inning, Doane was able to load the bases for Little and he delivered another big hit, this time he crushed a grand slam home run to put the Tigers back in front, 9-7. Midland picked up a home run in the 6th to pull within one run. In the 7th, the Warriors had two on with one out and attempted a double steal but Jack Tillman (SO/Omaha, Neb.) threw to Little at third base to nab the lead runner. Midland was able to come up with a two-out base hit and a misplay in the Tiger outfield allowed the tying run to score.White opened up extra innings for the Tigers and delivered a go-ahead home run to give the Tigers a 10-9 lead. Midland was able to put the tying run on base in the bottom of the inning, only to strand him at first base.Aaron Forrest (FR/Peoria, Ariz.) started for Doane and went 2.0 innings, allowing four runs on four hits with three strikeouts. Daniel Vargas threw 1.0 inning, allowing one run on three hits. Travis Cowan (JR/Lakewood, Colo.) picked up the win as he went 5.0 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits while striking out seven.The Tigers had 14 hits in the game, three from White and Little. Little finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and six driven in. Game TwoThe nightcap was all Tigers from start to finish as their 25 runs scored were the most against the Warriors since 2002 when they posted 27 runs in a GPAC Tournament game. The sweep was the first over Midland since 2014.The scoring started in the 1st inning as White and Little hit back-to-back home runs. The Tigers added two runs in the 2nd inning on a two-run home run by Nate Mensik (FR/Pleasant Dale, Neb.). Two more runs crossed the plate in the 3rd inning for a 6-0 lead on RBI-singles by Tucker Catlett (SR/Lincoln, Neb.) and Aaron Mason (SR/Omaha, Neb.).Midland scored a run in the bottom of the 3rd on a ground out. Doane picked up a run in the 4th as White and Little hit back-to-back doubles. The Warriors trimmed the Tiger lead to 7-4 as they scored three runs in the bottom of the 4th.A total of 20 runs were scored over the next two innings, including 15 for Doane. In the 5th, the Tigers loaded the bases with a single and two hit batters to open the inning. With one out, White hit a grand slam home run to push the Doane lead to 11-4. Osborn and Catlett would add RBI-hits in the inning as Doane led 13-4. Midland came back with four runs to cut the deficit to 13-8.The 6th inning saw 13 Doane batters step to the plate with nine of them scoring. White had a RBI-single to start the scoring and was followed up by Little hitting his second home run of the game, a three-run blast. Catlett drove in two with a single and the scoring concluded in the inning on a Theiler three-run home run. Midland scored one run in the bottom of the inning, leaving Doane with a 22-9 lead.The game was set for a seven-inning contest after the first game went extra innings but that wasn't going to stop the Tigers from adding on to their lead. A passed ball scored Bob Mercier (FR/Lincoln, Neb.) after he reached on a walk to open the inning. Brett Meyer (FR/Seward, Neb.) then delivered a two-run double for the final tally for the Tigers. Midland scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th to cap the scoring.Jordan Wisner (JR/Anaheim Hills, Calif.) improved to 6-0 on the year as he went 4.0 innings, allowing four runs on five hits with five strikeouts. Evan Mason (FR/Aurora, Colo.) threw 0.1 inning, allowing four runs on four hits. Daniel Vargas allowed one run on one hit and two walks in 1.0 inning of work. Christian McCown (JR/Diller, Neb.) threw 0.2 innings, allowing one hit. Hyunjun Chung (SO/Seoul, South Korea) threw 1.0 inning, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out the side.The Tigers topped their season-high for hits set on Friday by posting 23 in the second game. White was 5-for-7 with three runs scored and six driven in. Little was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and five RBIs. Theiler was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Catlett went 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Mensik was 2-for-3 with four runs scored and two driven in.