Anderson Completes Sweep of Mount St. Joseph

The Anderson University baseball team completes its three-game Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) series sweep of Mount St. Joseph University by taking both games of Monday's doubleheader at Don Brandon Field.

Anderson (17-9, 7-3) took down Mount St. Joseph (14-9, 5-5) by a score of 9-2 in Game 1. The Ravens then hung onto a 9-8 victory in Game 2. Anderson currently sits atop the HCAC standings by a half game.

Daniel Barreca put the Ravens on the board in the bottom of the first inning with a bases-loaded walk.

Brendan Tabor smashed a solo home run in the third inning to put Anderson ahead 2-0.

Brennan Martin cracked an RBI single in the top of the fourth for the Lions to cut the lead in half.

In the bottom half of the inning, Cody Jackson and Dylan Hogan led off the inning with back-to-back solo home runs to extend Anderson's lead 4-1.

During the top of the sixth, Sean Moore knocked in Martin on a sacrifice fly.

In the bottom half of the inning, Ben Seitzinger drew a hit by pitch with two outs. Griffin Wolf reached on a fielder's choice following Seitzinger making it to second safely as the result of a throwing error by the shortstop, a play that would have ended the inning without the error. Tabor then smashed a three-run blast, his second homer of the game, extending Anderson's lead to 7-2.

In the top of the seventh, Austin Buckle led off the inning with a walk. With one out, Jordan Harley and Andrew Harrison drew back-to-back singles to load the bases. Justin Schassburger entered the game with one out and the bases loaded and he escaped the inning unscathed after forcing Mount St. Joseph to hit into a double play.

Hogan ripped a run-scoring double in the bottom of the seventh, putting Anderson ahead 8-2.

Zac Stawski belted an RBI triple in the eighth.

The Lions outhit the Ravens 12-9.

Tabor went 2-for-4, delivering two homers and four RBI. Hogan finished 2-for-4 with a homer, a double and two RBI. Jackson smashed a homer while Stawski produced a triple. Barreca, Setizinger and Wolf contributed singles to round out Anderson's nine hits. Charlie Jones also recorded a stolen base.

Harrison went 3-for-5 with a double for the Lions. Jake Sanders finished 2-for-4 while Martin went 2-for-5. Jordan Harley, Ethan Mason, Moore, Jackson Gutzwiller and Buckle rounded out Mount St. Joseph's 12 hits with singles.

Logan Nickel (2-2) earned the win. He struck out five batters, issued two walks and allowed two runs on nine hits in six and one-third innings. Justin Schassburger picked up his second save of the season. He fanned two batters, yielded zero walks and gave up three hits in two and two-thirds scoreless innings.

Matt Frye (1-2) was tagged with the loss. He punched out five batters, surrendered four walks and gave up four runs on five hits in three and one-third innings. Ryan Caulfield fanned four batters, issued zero walks and conceded three unearned runs on one hit in two and two-thirds innings. Carson Taulbee issued one walk and gave up one run on one hit in one inning. Kaiden Morris struck out one batter, yielded zero walks and allowed one run on two hits in one inning.

In the bottom of the first in Game 2, a miscommunication occurred on an infield pop fly that led to a leadoff double for Jones. Setizinger moved Jones over on a sacrifice bunt and then Wolf drove Jones in on a groundout.

In the top of the second, two outs and the bases empty turned into four Lion runs. Buckle cracked a two-run single and Anton Mere smacked a two-run double.

Jackson drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the second. He stole second and the catcher's errant throw to second allowed Jackson to reach third. Jones then singled Jackson to trim the deficit to 4-2.

In the bottom of the third, Stawski and Barreca drew consecutive walks with two outs. A throwing error by the catcher on a pickoff play allowed both runners to advance. Another defensive miscommunication by the Lions on an infield fly allowed Trey Dorton to single in two runs and tie the game at 4-4.

In the bottom of the fourth with runners on second and third, Seitzinger reached on a dropped fly ball by the right fielder, allowing Hogan to score. An errant throw by the right fielder on the same play also allowed Jones to score. The play gave Anderson a 6-4 lead.

Mount St. Joseph loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with no outs and the Lions capitalized. Moore scored on a double play to cut the lead to one. Nicholas Price then scored on a wild pitch to tie the game.

Martin led off the top of the eighth with a single. He then advanced to second on a wild pitch. A.J. Meyer pinch ran and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Sanders drew a walk to put runners on the corners. Mason laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Sanders to second, but Meyer remained at third. Moore then belted a two-run single to put Mount St. Joseph ahead 8-6.

Dorton led off the bottom of the eighth with a single. Jackson walked and Hogan then laid down a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. With one out, Dorton scored on a wild pitch while Jackson and Hogan each advanced.  Seitzinger drove in Jackson on a fielder's choice to tie the game. He then advanced to second on a wild pitch while Hogan remained at third. Wolf grounded out to second. On the play, Seitzinger made it most of the way to third, but Hogan stayed at third creating a double rundown. Mount St. Joseph's catcher bobbled the ball, buying time for Seitzinger to return to second. The Lions' second baseman misplayed the throw, not only allowing Seitzinger to return to second safely, but the ball got away and Hogan scored the 9-8 go-ahead run.

In the top of the ninth, Buckle led the Lions off with a walk. Mere and Harley put together back-to-back consecutive bunt singles to load the bases with no outs and only trailing a run. With Harrison at the plate, Seitzinger, Tabor and Wolf pulled the atypical 5-2-3 double play. A groundout by Andrew Clements sealed the game for the Ravens.

The Lions were plagued with six errors and two additional defensive miscues, which resulted in four unearned runs. Anderson outhit Mount St. Joseph 11-10.

Hogan went 3-for-3 with a double for the Ravens. Jones finished 3-for-5 with two stolen bases. Dorton went 2-for-4 with a two-run single. Stawski, Barreca and Tabor rounded out Anderson's 11 hits with singles. Seitzinger drove in two runs while Jackson drew three walks. Stawski stole two bases while Jackson added a stolen base.

Mere went 3-for-5 with a two-run double. Moore and Buckle each finished 2-for-3 with two RBI. Harley, Martin and T.J. Selvie rounded out Mount St. Joseph's 10 hits with singles.

Aidan Shoemaker (4-0) collected the win for the Ravens. He issued zero walks and gave up zero runs on one hit in two-thirds of an inning. C.J. Williams notched his fourth save of the year. Williams yielded a walk and gave up zero runs on two hits in one inning. Landon Brooks struck out one batter, conceded four walks and surrendered six runs on six hits in seven innings. Gavin Owsley yielded one walk and allowed two runs on one hit in one-third of an inning.

Evan Webb (1-1) was hit with the loss for the Lions. He fanned two batters, issued one walk and surrendered three runs (two earned) on two hits in two innings. Jackson Bucks punched out two batters, yielded four walks and conceded six runs (three earned) on eight hits in five innings. Cole Carrigan gave up one walk and allowed zero runs on one hit in one inning.

The Ravens battle Wabash College (15-7) in non-conference action on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Crawfordsville.