Doane's baseball team took one step towards a postseason tournament berth, picking up a split with Hastings College on Friday afternoon in the home finale. Doane needs one win at Nebraska Wesleyan to assure themselves a spot in the conference tournament, pending results on Friday evening.
Game One: L 3-9
Hastings took advantage of four Tiger errors and scored eight unearned runs to pick up the game one victory.
Doane jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning. Blake Snow led off the inning with a walk and moved to third base on a base hit by Anthony Hincy. Mike Albert followed with a single to plate the first run of the game for the Tigers.
After an Anthony Dunn sacrifice bunt move runners to second and third with one out, Dean Henson struck out for the second out of the inning. Luke Henderson followed and took a two-ball, two-strike pitch right back up the middle to plate a pair of runs as the Tigers expanded their lead.
However, Hastings came back with five unearned runs in the fifth. A hit-by-pitch and an error put two runners on for Mack Land. Land put down a bunt but Jason West covered it quickly and got the force out at third. Dunn, who had to dig it out of the dirt, came up with the ball and noticed that Land did not run on the bunt and threw it to first for a double play.
It looked like the Tigers might get out of the inning on a ground ball to short. Hincy came up with the ball and made a toss to second base for a potential force out but it was dropped and the inning extended and loaded the bases. The very next pitch say John Rivera send a pitch out for a grand slam to put Hastings up 5-1.
In the seventh inning, the Broncos added four more runs as a dropped fly ball led to three unearned runs.
On the mound for the Tigers, Dexter Spitsnogle was the hard luck loser in the game as he allowed five unearned runs over six innings of work. He gave up seven hits and two walks while striking out 10. Jordan Harrison allowed four runs, one earned, in two-thirds of an inning. He gave up two hits and walked one. Chris Plourde threw the final one-third of an inning, allowing one hit and one walk.
At the plate for Doane, Henderson was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Albert went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI. Jason West joined Hincy with the other two base hits for the Tigers.
Game Two: W 9-4
Hastings jumped out to a 4-0 lead but Doane bounced back to take the split in the doubleheader, keyed by three, three-run innings.
The Broncos led 4-0 going into the bottom of the third inning. Doane jumped on the board with three runs to cut the lead to one.
Mike Mendenhall led off the third inning with a double and moved to third on an error by the right fielder. He came in to score the first Tiger run on a single by Josh Reed. Following a strikeout, Reed stole second base to get into scoring position for Anthony Hincy. Hincy hit a fly ball down the left field line that landed just on the line for a double but Reed was holding up, looking to tag on the play if it was caught and only advanced to third base.
Mike Albert delivered a sacrifice fly to bring in Reed as Doane scored their second run. Tyler Johnson delivered a two-out single to bring Hincy in from second base.
In the fourth, Doane took the lead with another three-run inning. With out down, Jason West walked and moved to third on a single by Mendenhall. Reed laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to bring in West from third base to tie the game at 4-4. Blake Snow walked and Hincy reached on an error to load the bases for Albert. Albert delivered his second and third RBIs of the game will a single back up the middle to put Doane ahead, 6-4.
In the Tigers' sixth inning, Mendenhall led off with a single followed by a Reed single. The duo stole second and third base to put two runners in scoring position for Snow. Snow lined a single up the middle to plate two more runs for Doane.
After a pitching change, the Tigers eventually loaded the bases with one out. Dunn hit a slow ground ball to the shortstop and Hastings could only get one out as Snow crossed the plate for the final Doane run of the game.
Mykel Erickson came out of the bullpen to close out the game for winning pitcher, Britton Scheele. Scheele threw six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out two. Erickson threw one scoreless inning.
At the plate, Reed and Snow each went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Mendenhall and Johnson went 3-for-4 apiece as Mendenhall scored three runs.