Pride and Mustangs split series with Mount Mercy earning Sunday sweep

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - With Sunday's series finale doubleheader set to determine the leader of the Heart of America North Division heading into the final weekend of the regular season, the Clarke University baseball team dropped both ends of that doubleheader to Mount Mercy University by scores of 7-3 and 7-1.

The pair of wins for the Mustangs clinches a series split after CU took the first two games on Saturday, allowing Mount Mercy to regain their three-game lead in the Heart standings with each team set to play their final series in conference play next weekend when the Pride go to Peru State and Mount Mercy plays on the road against Graceland.

To the games, the day's opener was a bit of a back-and-forth affair starting with the home team jumping out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first that began a trading of single run innings when the Pride got their first answer in the top of the third via a Brady Lord infield single to make it 1-1.

In the bottom of the third, Mount Mercy took their one-run lead back on an RBI ground out, then Cole Swartz was able to drive an RBI triple to center in the top of the fourth to tie the game again, but then it was mostly Mustangs when they scored another run in the bottom the fifth and really broke it open in the six with four more runs to lead by five and eventually win 7-3.

Swartz and Nico Reed each had a pair of hits in the game as the Pride were able to outhit Mount Mercy 8-7, but weren't able to get more than one baserunner on in an inning after the fourth, even when they were able to get a run back in the top of the seventh after Swartz doubled to lead off the inning and was eventually driven in by Hunter Flores.

Clarke's offense stayed fairly quiet from the end of game three into game four where they were only able to produce one run on six hits as the run was scored on an Omari Barksdale solo home run in the top of the sixth to make the game 3-1 at the time, but then MMU answered with four in the bottom half of the inning to provide insurance runs heading into the final frame.

Pride baseball will play one final home game before that aforementioned final series of the regular season at Peru State when they host a single, nine-inning, game at A.J. Spiegel Park in Peosta, Iowa against St. Ambrose University with a scheduled 5:00 p.m. CT first pitch against the Fighting Bees.