Benedictine Baseball continued Heart play over the weekend, hosting a 4-game series against Missouri Valley College.
The Ravens earned a sweep over the Vikings, opening up play on Saturday with wins of 11-2 and 10-4 before wrapping up the series with wins of 6-3 and 8-5 on Sunday. The sweep is the first for the Ravens over a Heart opponent since they wrapped up the 2022-23 regular season with a 4-game sweep over MNU.
Game 1: Benedictine 11, Missouri Valley 2
The Ravens used a 7-run fifth inning to take control of the series opener in support of Nic Mozingo on the hill.
Mozingo threw 5 innings, giving up 1 earned run off 5 hits with 5 strikeouts before Ethan Arnold finished off the final 2 innings, limiting the Vikings to just 1 hit.
At the plate, Carson Hintz and Korey Messick each hit home runs for the Ravens while Messick while Brody Martin added a double. Daniel Ornelas and Matthew Johnson added 2 hits each while Ornelas led the Ravens with 3 RBI. Hintz, Messick and Johnson added 2 RBI each.
Game 2: Benedictine 10, Missouri Valley 4
The Ravens scored 6 unanswered over the first two innings and then scored 3 insurance runs int the sixth inning to seal their second win of the series.
Scott Matzke improved to 4-0 on the year, throwing 5.2 innings on the hill. He scattered 3 earned runs off 4 hits with 5 strikeouts before Ben Bowman and Ryan Jackson finished off the game.
Offensively, Elijah Reeves hit his first home run as a Ravens, while scoring 3 runs. Johnson added a double while Brice Martin went 3 for 4 with 2 runs and a 3 RBI. Michael McCavitt added 3 RBI to round out the Ravens efforts at the plate.
Game 3: Benedictine 6, Missouri Valley 3
Ryan McDougal gave the Ravens the first complete-game of the series, going the distance on the hill. He scattered 3 runs off 6 hits over 7 innings with 6 strikeouts to move to 3-1.
McCavitt and Jackson Stone each went 2 for 3 at the plate while Hintz and Brice Martin added a double each. Bryan Haas led the Ravens with 2 RBI as the Ravens win sealed their second Heart series win to start the year.
Game 4: Benedictine 8, Missouri Valley 5
Missouri Valley took a 5-3 lead after the top of the second inning before the Ravens answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning and then a pair or run in the 4 and 6 inning to cap off the series sweep.
Elijah Reeves reached base in the bottom of the second on a single and then with Brice Martin at the plate, stole second, third and home to pull Benedictine back within a ru before Martin's at-bat concluded.
With Johnson and Reeves on base in the fourth inning, the duo scored on a wild pitch and passed ball to give Benedictine back the lead for good.
Ryan Jackson earned the start on the hill. He went 3.2 innings, giving up 5 earned run-off 7 hits before Anthony Sanders, Arnold and Reeves finished off the game. Sanders was credited with the win, giving up 1 hit over 2 innings with 2 strikeouts. Arnold finished off the sixth before Reeves earned the save throwing the seventh.
Ornelas was the only Ravens with a multi-hit game, going 2 for 3 with an RBI. Messick and Stone finished with a double each while Brice Martin added a drips and RBI.
The Ravens remain at home on Tuesday, hosting a doubleheader with Grand View University at 1 p.m. at Olsen Stadium. The two games – along with a return trip later in the season to Des Moines, do not count as Heart games. The Ravens return to Heart action on March 28-29, traveling to Baldwin City for a four-game series with Baker University.
www.ravenathletics.com | #UnleashGreatness | www.benedictine.edu
