The Vikings (16-14, 6-4 MCC) baseball team took to the road on Thursday afternoon to play a double header against Iowa Wesleyan College (17-15, 9-2 MCC) in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The Tigers of Iowa Wesleyan had defeated the Vikings on Wednesday afternoon in nine innings and did the same in both seven inning contests on Thursday. Although Grand View's offense was able to score 16 runs in the double header, Iowa Wesleyan's offense was even more powerful, plating 30 runs.
In the opening game on Thursday, Grand View scored the first run in the top of the second inning on sophomore Brady Wathen's solo home run off to left field. The lead did not hold up for very long, as the Tigers scored a run in the bottom half of the second inning. The Tigers went on to score a run in each of the next four innings, scoring five runs in the third and fifth innings. Iowa Wesleyan pounded out 13 hits to the Vikings nine hits, giving Grand View's starting pitcher Jared Meggison the 14-6 loss. Wathen was the lone bright spot for the Vikings, as he finished the first game with three hits, two RBIs and scoring twice.
In the second contest, the Vikings were looking to end their losing streak at two. However the Tigers had different plans, scoring 12 runs in the first three innings of the game. During the 12 run scoring spree by the home team, the visiting Vikings were able to score two runs on senior Chris Cutler's home run to right field. The next two innings were all Iowa Wesleyan, as they scored in the fourth and fifth innings. In the top half of the fifth inning, the Vikings offense exploded for eight runs on seven hits. Marc Mericle and Matt Dunn highlighted the eight run outburst with a pair of three run home runs. Grand View was not able to score any more runs in the final two innings, giving Iowa Wesleyan the 16-10 victory. Cutler finished the second game with two hits and three RBIs, while short stop Kyler Morgan ended with two hits and scoring twice.
Grand View will look to get back on the winning track on April 5th when they travel to Saint Ambrose University. The first game of the double header will begin at 3:00 p.m.
