[Baseball] Walk-off homer beats Mustangs

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- A walk-off home run by Nick Stein in the bottom of the 12th inning gave Coe a 7-6 victory over Mount Mercy in the latest meeting between the two intra-city rivals on Wednesday at Daniels Park.

A two-run homer by junior designated hitter Paul Franco put the Mustangs in front in the top of the first, then a two-run single by junior second baseman Matt Salas and an RBI groundout by junior shortstop David Rodriguez pushed their lead to 5-1 after an inning and a half.

While Mount Mercy went scoreless, the Kohawks (26-10) scored twice in the fifth, once in the eighth and again in the ninth on a two-out single by Scott DeAngelis to extend the non-conference matchup. Senior third baseman Albert Diaz led off the 10th inning with a single and eventually scored on junior right fielder Brent Pankow's base hit to give the Mustangs (20-20) a 6-5 lead.

Coe got that run back in the bottom half of the inning when Stein walked to lead off the frame, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch, then scored on Dalton Combs' ground ball out to short. Neither team could break through in the 11th, and Mount Mercy stranded a baserunner in the top of the 12th before Stein ended the game on the first pitch he saw from sophomore right-hander Phil Hotchkiss (3-6).

Mount Mercy ends its season with an overall record of 20-20. The Mustangs went 12-12 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference for a sixth-place finish in the league.