Baseball Takes Two Wins in Convincing Fashion at USF

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Mount Vernon Nazarene University baseball team (11-4, 5-1 CL) played at the University of Saint Francis (2-16, 0-6 CL) in the first two games of a four-game set on Friday, March 6.

MVNU took the first game of the series 6-2 with its combination of timely offense and strong pitching. The game was scoreless until MVNU got on the board in the top of the fourth inning after Carter LaPata scored on a sac-fly from Brady Lester. MVNU exploded for five runs in the top of the seventh, giving it a 6-0 lead. Jack Schreck's RBI single scored Kaid Carpenter. Kevin Inman then hit a two-run single to center, scoring Alejandro Delgado and Andrew Moffit. Lester then drove in two more runs with a double to right field that scored Inman and LaPata. USF tacked on two runs in the bottom of the inning, but MVNU was able to prevent any more damage as it cruised to the win. Jared Hurlburt started on the mound and got his second win of the season. The senior pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits while striking out nine.

In the second game of the day, MVNU had a huge performance at the plate, collecting 13 hits and scoring 16 runs in its 16-6 win. Despite trailing 2-3 after the first inning, MVNU scored six unanswered runs between the second and fifth innings to take control of the game. MVNU then added four runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh. Kaid Carpenter had a big game, and it was highlighted by his first home run of the season in the top of the fifth inning. Carpenter was three-for-five at the plate. Lester and Andrew Hobbs also had strong plate performances, driving in three runs each. Reese Willoughby got his fourth win of the season for MVNU, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing six runs and seven hits to go with four strikeouts. Grant Peters pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings, allowing no hits while striking out two.

What's Next

MVNU will conclude its series with Saint Francis on Monday, March 9. The final two games are set to start at 12:00 p.m.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education both in-seat and online to nearly 2,200 students from 36 states, 1 U.S. commonwealth and 41 foreign countries.