[Softball] Mustangs sweep through MCC pod play

OSKALOOSA, Iowa -- Mount Mercy won all four of its games over the weekend at the Midwest Collegiate Conference softball pod event hosted by William Penn. The Mustangs defeated Grand View, Viterbo (Wis.), Iowa Wesleyan and Waldorf to take over sole possession of second place in the MCC.

Mount Mercy, fresh off of a spring break trip to Florida where they won six of nine games, opened the pod weekend with a 5-2 victory over Grand View on Saturday. A two-run double by sophomore left fielder Kayley Hakeman and run-scoring hits by sophomore second baseman Kerry Herlihy and senior right fielder Rosie Jones sparked a four-run second inning. Senior right-hander Paige Lager scattered three hits over seven innings with six strikeouts and one walk.

The second inning was where the Mustangs did most of their damage in game two, a 16-6 win over Viterbo. Four V-Hawk errors in the second proved costly as Mount Mercy scored seven times in the frame to take a 10-1 lead. Hakeman, who got the win for the Mustangs, senior catcher Briana DeFlavio and senior first baseman Liz Hill homered in the game. Hill finished with four RBIs while junior third baseman Jacki Ciran drove in three runs and Hakeman and senior designated player Jessica Magnuson had two RBIs apiece.

Despite being out-hit, 10-3, Mount Mercy managed a 2-1 victory in Sunday's opener against Iowa Wesleyan. Herlihy doubled and scored on a passed ball and Jones drove in a run in the third inning in support of Lager (6-4), who went the distance again, allowing one earned run with six strikeouts.

Liz Hill capped off an eight-run second inning with a three-run homer, her fifth of the season, in a 9-7 defeat of Waldorf on Sunday afternoon. Seven of those eight runs were unearned, the result of two Warrior errors. Liz Hill finished 2-for-4 with three runs batted in. Hakeman drove in a pair of runs and Magnuson and senior righty Mariah Early (5-2) collected two hits each. Early gave up three earned runs on seven hits in four innings in picking up her fifth win of the season.

The Mustangs (14-6, 4-2 MCC) have nine games this week, beginning with an MCC doubleheader at Iowa Wesleyan (8-21, 2-6 MCC) on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. in Mount Pleasant. They host Clarke (6-13, 4-4 MCC) the next day at 5:00 p.m. at Tomahawk Park in Cedar Rapids, then head back to Mount Pleasant for five games at the Sammons Classic on Friday and Saturday.