Schwab Fans Nine; Mustangs Sweep Ravens in Series Opener

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Ashton Schwab struck out nine Benedictine batters in the series opener as Mount Mercy swept the Ravens on Saturday by scores of 5-1 and 7-4.

Game One

The Mustangs (6-10) saw multi-hit games from Tyler Dahm, Joel Vaske, and Drake Frazier. Dahm and Kyle Moeder would also record multiple RBI's, each finishing with two.

The Mustangs got the scoring started in the second inning, as Dahm would record both of his RBI's on a double to center field, scoring Frazier and Vaske. The Ravens (9-13) would answer in the third inning, getting back to within one run on a Brylan Haas single to center field, scoring Skyler Specht.

The Mustangs would get a run back as Josh Notriano would ground out to first base as Frazier would come in to score, extending the Mustang lead to two runs. In the fifth, Moeder would drive in his two runs on the game on a single to left field, driving in Vaske and Kyle Lehmann, as the game would end with a 5-1 scoreline.

Ashton Schwab was remarkable on the mound for Mount Mercy, nearly pitching a complete game, ending the day throwing 6.2 innings while only allowing three hits and striking out nine Raven batters. Zach Barden earned his third save on the season, recording the final out in the contest.

Game Two

The bats came alive in game two, as the Mustangs had four batters with multiple hits in Riley Rundquist, Kyle Lehmann, Joel Vaske, and Kyle Moeder. Moeder once again showed out by recording another three RBI's while Vaske ended the day with two RBI's.

Vaske would open the scoring in the second inning, doubling to left field which scored Lehmann. Vaske would proceed to steal third base before an errant throw from the Ravens catcher would bring in Vaske, quickly making the game 2-0 in favor of Mount Mercy. The Ravens would respond in the third, as Domonic Ferrari drove a ball over the left field fence, making it a 2-1 game after three innings.

Vaske would add another RBI, singling to left field which scored Lehmann once more. Moeder added to the run total with a double to left center, followied by Ryan Knowlton reaching first on an error as the Mustangs would open the lead to 5-1 after four innings. In the fifth, Moeder would drive in two more runs on a single to left field, making it 7-1. The Ravens would register a sacrifice fly in the seventh before Jack Harpole blasted a ball over the scoreboard in the seventh, ending the game with a 7-4 scoreline.

Josh Fleming earned his second win on the year, pitching four innings and allowing just one run while striking out two. Benedictine's Ben DeLaForest was tabbed with the loss, pitching four innings and allowing five runs. Zach Barden earned his second save of the day, and his fourth on the season, recording the final out.

"I thought we played solid baseball," added Mustang head coach Jack Dahm. "We came up big with some two-out hits and RBI's to add to our lead. We have a lot of better baseball coming up in the future."

Mount Mercy and Benedictine will round out the series at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex on Monday, with first pitch slated for noon.