Mt. Pleasant sweeps Bloodhounds in SEC twinbill

The Mt. Pleasant Panther baseball team picked up two more key Southeast Conference wins Wednesday evening against Fort Madison, 9-5 and 11-7. The doubleheader was originally scheduled for June 20 but was rained out.

Tanner Courtney hit an RBI single in the third inning of game one as Mt. Pleasant (21-7 overall, 10-2 SEC) tied the game at one apiece. The Bloodhounds (12-15 overall, 9-3 SEC) put another run on the board in the bottom of the third but Mt. Pleasant scored three times in the fifth inning to regain the lead. Courtney hit another single in the sixth inning, this time driving in two runs as the Panthers locked up the win with four runs in the sixth. Henry Krieger-Coble earned the win, throwing 6 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts and two walks; Krieger-Coble allowed five runs, three earned, on 10 hits in the victory.

The Panthers scored five times in the first inning in game two to take an early 5-0 lead but Fort Madison took a 7-4 lead after a four-run third inning. Mt. Pleasant regained the lead on a three-run home run by Braden Shull in the sixth inning, 10-7, before Krieger-Coble hit an insurance RBI single in the top of the seventh. Conner Shull picked up his eighth win of the season on the mound, striking out seven with one walk but allowing seven runs on 11 hits during the complete game.

Mt. Pleasant hosts Fort Madison tonight in another varsity doubleheader, starting at 5:30 p.m.

BOX SCORE ? GAME 1

MT. PLEASANT 9, FORT MADISON 5

Mt. Pleasant ? 0 0 1 1 3 4 0 ? 9 15 2

Fort Madison ? 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 ? 5 10 2

GAME 2

MT. PLEASANT 11, FORT MADISON 7

Mt. Pleasant ? 5 1 0 1 0 3 1 ? 11 12 3

Fort Madison ? 3 0 4 0 0 0 0 ? 7 11 0

SEC standings as of July 7

1. Mt. Pleasant 10-2; 2. Fort Madison 9-3; 3. Washington 8-4; 4. Fairfield 3-9; 5. Keokuk 0-10