Vikings drop opening HAAC series to Avila

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The opening weekend of the Heart of America Conference campaign didn't go well for the Missouri Valley College baseball team, swept in its four-game series with defending West Division champion Avila.

Due to the forecast of rain two days later, the doubleheader at Kansas City was pushed up to Friday -- with pitchers in command of the opener. Valley senior Joaquin Lopez blanked the Eagles for six innings, but walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh.

Junior pinch-runner Brandon Pearl swiped second base and scored the game-winning run on junior Brian Snodgrass' walk-off double -- giving the 1-0 win to senior right-hander Nathan Albert, who scattered six hits and struck out five.

Junior Mario Ausiello cracked a two-run homer for Avila in the nightcap, which came from behind for a 6-3 decision.

Sophomore Damon Owen drove in two runs and sophomore George Ban added an RBI double as the Vikings took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth, but the home team answered with three runs in the bottom half of the frame.

Ausiello and Snodgrass each had three hits and sophomore Austin Speer knocked in a pair of runs for the Eagles.

Valley's home opener at bandbox Osage Field produced the accustomed long balls Saturday. Senior Brandon Haley hit a three-run shot and junior Tim Matson had a solo dinger for Avila, which took a 9-3 lead with four runs in the sixth.

The Vikings had four tallies in the home half of the inning, with junior Andy Chamberlin smashing a three-run blast, but they surrendered two more runs in the seventh and were unable to mount a charge during their final at-bat.

Ban and junior Gage Wollerman also went deep for Valley.

Matson's two-run poke in the top of the second inning staked the Eagles to a 4-0 lead in the finale, a 5-2 win. All of the Vikings' runs came on Ban's two-run tater in the third, chasing Avila's starting pitcher, but sophomore Jason Bell and junior Sean Belknap combined for four innings of shutout relief for the win.

The series was a lift for the Eagles (6-8, 4-0 HAAC), which had lost six of their previous seven games.

Valley (2-11, 0-4) takes a seven-game slump into Wednesday's non-conference twinbill at William Woods.