PULASKI, Tenn. - After winning a Friday night nailbiter, the RedHawks split Saturday's games including another close first game that resulted in a 5-3 loss. MMC then pounded out the hits in a second game 12-4 win. Senior Steven Dodson earned the win on the hill in the second game, as Clint Gobbell went 3-for-4 with four RBI in the second game.
Despite a late rally in the seventh inning to tie the game, MMC fell short in game one by a 5-3 score in the ninth inning, as Shane Murli suffered the loss on the hill.
Both teams scored early, each plating one in the second inning. As Bethel used a pair of hits to score, the RedHawks used a Nick Flanagan solo homerun to even the score, 1-1.
A two-run blast for the Wildcats in the fifth gave them a 3-1 advantage, and in the bottom of the sixth, the RedHawks chipped away at the lead with a single run. As Tidwell reached on a one-out walk, advancing on a passed ball, Matt Thomas roped a two-out, RBI single to drive in Tidwell.
In the bottom of the seventh, pinch hitter Jake Ray followed back-to-back singles from Zack Jordan and Ryan Jett, along with a Justin McQueen fielder's choice, and answered with a two-out base hit to left that would score Jett from second.
As the game was forced into extras with the last minute run from MMC, it was the Wildcats who emerged in the top of the ninth with three hits that scored two runs for the win, 5-3.
The RedHawks, ready to avenge their loss, posted four runs in the first inning, as Rob Holley sparked the offense with a double. Thomas then singled , and a fielder's choice from Flanagan resulting in Thomas's out, scored Holley. Jordan then singled, and a double deep in the corner in left scored both Flanagan and Jordan for a 3-0 lead. A Jett base hit then plated Gobbell, and MMC put themselves in a 4-0 position.
In the third, Bethel crossed a single run, and MMC again edged their lead further in the bottom of the fourth when Zack Bailey led off with a single. A Holley groundout moved Bailey to second, and Thomas answered with a base hit off the wall to score Bailey.
When BU then scored three in the fifth, Holley and Tidwell partnered to throw out the tying run at home, and preserved a one-run edge.
MMC then proved themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the bottom of the frame, plating five as Flanagan and Jordan opened with back-to-back hits, scoring on Gobbell's second double in the corner. A sacrifice bunt from Jett advanced Gobbell, and Bailey used a base hit to drive in the third run of the inning. McQueen, who had reached on a walk, later scored on a wild pitch, and when Thomas struck out swinging on a wild pitch, Bailey scored for a 10-4 lead.
The RedHawks added two more in the sixth inning, pushing the game out of reach and clinching the 12-4 victory. MMC improved to 26-20, 10-8 with the weekend and will head to Mid-Continent University next weekend.
