Mustangs look ahead to league opener after series with Bees

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- After opening a weekend series against St. Ambrose with a win, the Mount Mercy baseball team dropped the final three in the series at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex.

Friday's opener was a nine-inning contest that saw the Mustangs take a 7-3 lead and hold on for a 7-6 victory. Kyle Moeder was 3-for-4 and Trent Hoogerwerf 2-for-3. Josh Notriano, Bryce Brown, and Kyle Lehmann each drove in a pair of runs. Ashton Schwab (1-0) didn't allow an earned run while striking out seven in five innings. Zach Barden closed out the ninth for his second save.

In game two, the Bees grabbed a 4-0 lead in the fourth and held off the Mustangs, 4-3. Jaden Hackbarth homered for Mount Mercy and Moeder and Notriano also drove in runs. Jacob Norris (0-2) went four innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs while striking out four and walking two. Josh Fleming tossed three solid innings in relief.

A six-run fourth inning put a tied game out of reach in Saturday's opener, which the Bees claimed, 13-4. They out-hit the Mustangs, 16-5. Matthew Murphy had two of Mount Mercy's hits, and Hackbarth and Barden each homered.

St. Ambrose scored in each of the first three innings in the series finale and took game four, 5-3. Notriano went 2-for-4, Brandon Bickford 2-for-3 with two runs batted in. Hoogerwerf also drove in a run for the Mustangs. Owen Brauch (1-1) got the decision. Jon Cross and Tyler Nagelbach saw innings in relief. Nagelbach pitched four scoreless innings out of the bullpen, giving up just two hits while striking out five and not walking a batter.

Mount Mercy (4-10) shifts their attention to next weekend when they open Heart of America Athletic Conference play against Benedictine. The four-game set features doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 pm at the Plaster Athletic Complex.