Pioneers stifle Mustangs on day two of postseason play

OZARK, Mo. -- Fourth-seeded Mount Mercy fell to top-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene in the second round of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Baseball Championship, 17-3, on Saturday evening at US Ballpark.

Brett Swalve singled to begin the second inning and came around to score on a double by Andrue Henry for a 1-0 lead, but it went downhill from there. The Pioneers put up an incredible 14 runs in the top of the third, chasing starter Nathan Pardini (5-4) after 2-2/3 innings and forcing Mount Mercy to use three relievers for the final 6-1/3. Brady Schiesl, the Mustangs' third pitcher, entered in the fourth and pitched four scoreless innings before MidAmerica Nazarene (34-14) pushed two runs across in the top of the eighth. Mount Mercy responded with two of their own in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly from Tyler Dahm and an Evan Paulus RBI single that plated Drake Frazier. The Pioneers tacked one on in the top of the ninth before retiring the side for the game.

With the loss, Mount Mercy (32-19) drops to the loser's bracket and will face fifth-seeded Peru State (Neb.) (22-32) in an elimination game Sunday morning at 10:00 am. The Mustangs took three of four when the two teams played during the regular season.