Mustangs edge Tommies, rout Tigers

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Zach Barden walked off St. Thomas in an extra-inning thriller and Mount Mercy scored a season-high 17 runs in a rout of Iowa Wesleyan on Wednesday at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex.

The Mustangs trailed the NCAA Division I Tommies twice before getting a 6-5, walk-off victory in Wednesday's opener. After St. Thomas tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the fifth, Mount Mercy broke a six-inning scoreless drought in the bottom of the 11th. Kyle Moeder led off with a triple and scored one batter later on Barden game-winning single to center.

Tyler Dahm went 3-for-5 with two runs batted in and Evan Paulus also collected three hits, including a double, while driving in a run. Dalton Hews was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Jacob Lodge (2-1) earned the win after three innings of one-hit ball. He also struck out five and didn't walk a batter.

Game two was never in doubt as the Mustangs (12-6) held a double-digit lead by the third inning and cruised to a 17-2 defeat of Iowa Wesleyan. Mount Mercy totaled 17 hits and counted six players with multi-hit games. Brandon Bickford went 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs scored and three RBI. Brett Swalve homered twice and drove in five runs. David Mitchell also homered and had five runs batted in. Dahm, Paulus, and Jason Strunk also had two hits apiece. Brady Schiesl (1-0) struck out five and didn't walk a batter while allowing just two hits in five scoreless innings.

Mount Mercy heads to Des Moines this weekend for a four-game Heart of America Athletic Conference series with Grand View. First pitch is 1:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday.