Mustangs Find Spark Late; Take Down Waldorf

FOREST CITY, Iowa - The Mustang baseball team sparked their offense over the final innings to take down Waldorf, 20-8, in the final non-conference matchup of the season.

Despite trailing 5-1 after three innings, the Mustangs exploded for 19 runs over the next four innings to earn the win. The Mustangs saw multiple hit performances in the game off the bats of Michael Rivero, Josh Notriano, Drew Terpins, and Cedric Dunnwald, as Dunnwald would lead both teams with four RBIs in the win.

Waldorf got the scoring started in the bottom of the first as Jack Kamalski drove in two on a single to right. The Warriors followed that up with a sacrifice. The Mustangs offense would start as Jaden Hackbarth homered on a solo shot, trimming the lead to two. The Warriors would add on two more in the third, extending their lead to four.

The Mustangs trimmed the Waldorf lead to one in the fourth as Dunnwald drove in the first of his RBIs on a bases loaded walk, scoring Derek Einertson. Hackbarth was hit by a pitch on the next at bat, while Jeremy Figueroa drove in a run on a walk to make it a 5-4 game. The Warriors were able to extend their lead to 7-4 after Atticus Smith drove in two runs on an infield single to the shortstop.

The Mustangs then found their spark, exploding their offense over the final few innings. In the fifth, Drew Terpins drove in two on a double to center field, while Dunnwald added two more of his own to give the Mustangs their first lead of the game. Bryce Brown followed that up with two more RBIs on a single to center, as both Hackbarth and Dunnwald came across to score on an error by the center fielder. 

In the sixth, Rivero added a home run of his own, while Dunnwald doubled to left to extend the lead to 12-7. Figueroa added a two-run double to left, while Josh Notriano blasted a three run shot in the seventh to blow the game open, now at 17-7. Also in the seventh, Eric Pecson drove in a run while Drew Turner launched a two-run blast to make it 20-7. The Warriors would add one in the seventh, but the run rule was in effect, giving the Mustangs a 12 run win.

Michael Schaul earned the win, throwing one inning, while allowing just one hit and striking out one. Jackson Thoe was tabbed with the loss, giving up four earned runs while only striking out one.

The Mustangs will return to the diamond with a road matchup against William Penn on Saturday.