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Trojans, Panthers split in baseball
Fairfield ties up conference lead, Mt. Pleasant goes back in front
FAIRFIELD — First place in the Southeast Conference standings began to slip out of Mt. Pleasant’s hands after Game 1 in Fairfield on Monday, but the Panthers took the lead right back in Game 2.
The Trojans rolled in Game 1, winning 9-3 to temporarily tie up the conference race, but the Panthers won Game 12-7 to go back up one game in the SEC race.
In Game 1, Mt. Pleasant took an early 1-0 lead, but the Trojans got things going with a three-run second inning, then added one in the fourth, four in the fifth and one in the sixth to lead 9-1.
Mt. Pleasant had base runners in both the sixth and seventh innings, but the Panthers could never break through.
Fairfield’s Dain Burkhart threw 100 pitches in a complete-game win for the Trojans in Game 1. He gave up three earned runs over seven innings. Mt. Pleasant’s Zach Newton picked up the loss.
The Trojans were led offensively by Aidan Kreuter, who went 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Carson Miller was 1-for-3 with two RBIs, and Aiden Westercamp went 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
The lone Mt. Pleasant RBI went to Payton Walker. Carson Andreasen went 1-for-4 with a double.
“Dane did a great job in at first game, getting ahead in the count and hitting locations,” said Fairfield head coach Josh Allison. “We just didn't quite do that in the second game.”
Mt. Pleasant went up big with a five-run third in Game 2. Fairfield cut the lead almost in half with a two-run fourth, but the Panthers hit back with two in the fifth to lead 7-2.
Mt. Pleasant flirted with the mercy rule after scoring five runs in the sixth to go up 12-2. The Trojans battled back with three in the sixth and two in the seventh but ran out of time.
Ben Newton nearly threw complete game, but was relieved after 6.2 innings of work, giving up seven runs (five earned), while striking out six batters. Fairfield had four players throw pitches, but Kreuter ended up getting tagged with the loss.
“We had too many errors in Game 1, and they put up some crooked numbers on us,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Brent Broeker. “In Game 2, Benny threw a great game, and when you're up eight or nine runs, you can let him ride a little more than you normally would.”
Ben Newton went 2-for-5 with three RBIs to lead Mt. Pleasant. Brayton Hutson and Payson Coleman both knocked in two runs.
Fairfield’s Nate Konczal and Landon Nodurft both had two RBIs in the loss. Miller had a double and an RBI.
Mt. Pleasant is now 15-4 overall and 8-2 in the SEC. Fairfield is 14-8 and 7-3. The two teams will play in Mt. Pleasant on Thursday night.
