Lady Vikings sweep home opener

Pitching and power propelled the Missouri Valley College softball team to a pair of wins Tuesday during its non-conference home opener against Ottawa (Kan.), 9-3 and 4-0.

Junior Tatum Hathcock allowed only two hits and no earned runs through six innings of the first game to pick up her third straight victory. She had earlier beaten York (Neb.), 5-3, and Northwood (Texas), 2-0, after a 5-1 loss to Rogers State (Okla.) last weekend at the Cow Town Classic in Fort Worth, Texas.

Junior Wendy Garcia smacked a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning and tallied three times in the second behind freshman Janie Jungerman's double and a triple by junior Kelly Smith.

The Lady Braves (0-2) picked up two runs in the fifth when a pair of errors set up junior Kadie Berlin's RBI single, but Valley answered with three runs during its half of the frame on doubles by seniors Heather Sliger and Esperanza Reyes and Jungerman.

Jungerman and sophomore Stacy Buschman combined on a six-hit shutout in the nightcap. Jungerman went six innings for her first win after falling to Oklahoma Science and Arts, 6-3, and Houston-Victoria, 12-1, to begin the season.

Freshman Cassidy Baggett cracked two homers, a three-run shot in the third and solo blast in the fifth, for all of the Lady Vikings' runs.

Valley (4-5) will play four games Friday and Saturday at the Early Bird Classic in Springfield.

Men's Volleyball

The Missouri Valley College men's volleyball team claimed their first victory of the season Thursday at Missouri Baptist, then followed it up with two more wins Saturday.

Sophomore Josh DeLeon and freshman Spencer Bishop each recorded nine kills as MVC improved its attack efficiency to .243 percent during a 30-25, 30-26, 30-26 sweep of the Spartans (3-8), ending a nine-match losing streak.

At Davenport, Iowa, the Vikings demolished Moody Bible Institute (Ill.), 30-15, 30-18, 30-12, behind eight spikes apiece from freshmen Kyle Schnettgoecke and Maysam Amanishourbarik. Valley hit at a .438 pace against the Archers (0-8).

The Vikings followed that up with a 30-25, 25-30, 30-23, 30-23 decision over eight-ranked host St. Ambrose (10-6). DeLeon led Valley with 23 kills and 14 digs, with Bishop putting down 13 shots and sophomore Jay Hanagami pulling up 21.

The roll ended Tuesday for the Vikings during their MAMVIC West loss to defending NAIA champion Park, 32-30, 30-21, 30-24. The sixth-ranked Pirates (14-4, 5-1 MAMVIC) got 16 kills from senior Henry Uribe and 21 digs by senior Ryan Gonzales.

Valley (3-10, 0-5) will take part in the Park Tournament this weekend.

Baseball

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Valley baseball team picked up a win over the weekend in between a pair of ugly losses to top-ranked Oklahoma City.

The host Stars (12-0) won Friday, 16-0, and Saturday, 13-3, although the Vikings held the early lead in the getaway game -- scoring three times in the top of the second inning when junior Gage Wollerman tripled home senior Tommy Summers of Sweet Springs and trotted in on senior Stephen Summers' homer.

Valley smacked Briar Cliff (Iowa), 15-2, in Saturday's early game. No details were available on the game at press time.

The Vikings (2-5) will be off until their home opener April 7 against Heart of America Conference foe Avila.

Indoor Track

LAMONI, Iowa -- Senior all-American Thiago Ferreira won the 3,000-meter race-walk Saturday at the Heart of America Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Lamoni, Iowa.

Ferreira covered the distance in 13:12.32 to nip Central Methodist's Peter Muldoon by a slim .35 seconds. Vikings freshman Dan Martin (18:17.62) finished fourth in the event.

Valley had three double-medalists, including sophomore Sheena Carter with a third place in the weight throw (14.00 meters) and sixth in the shot put (11.35). Sophomore William Coleman had a similar performance, fourth in the weight throw (14.62) and sixth in the shot (14.34).

Sophomore Darrel Madry came in third in the long jump (6.76) and fifth in the triple jump (13.18). The Vikings also got a fifth-place showing from freshman Samuel Lewis in the 1,000-meter run (2:39.17).

The Valley men were seventh in the 10-team meet with 50 points, while the Lady Vikings finished 10th with 13 points. Lindenwood handily took the men's (252 points) and women's (306) titles.

Valley will send two athletes to the NAIA Championships, March 5-7 at Johnson City, Tenn. Ferreira is ranked fourth in the 3,000 race-walk and Carter is 24th in the weight throw.