Mustangs fight off Vikings in postseason opener

OZARK, Mo. -- It wasn't easy, but after surrendering a six-run lead, third-seeded Mount Mercy scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat sixth-seeded Grand View, 10-9, in game three of the Heart of America Baseball Championship on Friday at Ozark Mountain Sports Complex.

Trent Hoogerwerf's RBI double and a two-run homer by Kyle Lehmann highlighted a four-run first inning for the Mustangs (29-19). The Vikings cut the deficit in half in the fifth, but another two-run double by Hooferwerf, RBI single from Tyler Dahm, and run-scoring single by Joel Vaske extended Mount Mercy's lead to 8-2 by the end of the sixth inning.

What looked like a comfortable lead didn't last long. Two home runs by Grand View in the seventh made it 8-5, and the Vikings took the lead in the top of the eighth inning on an RBI double, sacrifice fly, and another run-scoring double plus an error. After the Mustangs failed to score in their half of the eighth, courtesy runner Bryce Brown scored on a wild pitch to tie it and Tyler Pecson's sacrifice fly walked it off for Mount Mercy in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Hoogerwerf finished 2-for-4 with three runs batted in. Lehman also went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. Dahm ended up 2-for-4 while scoring twice and driving in a run. Ashton Schwab went 6-1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits with six strikeouts and a pair of walks. Zach Barden (3-1) struck out two and didn't allow a hit or a walk over the final 1-1/3 innings to get the win.

Next up for the Mustangs will be a matchup with second-seeded MidAmerica Nazarene (33-16) on Saturday at 1:30 pm.