Posted: Apr 29, 2023
Cougs finish out Regular Season with Rain & Turmoil
Game 2
Game 2
Mount Vernon Nazarene
(22-24, 17-19)
15
Saint Francis (Ind.)
(27-23, 21-15)
12
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mount Vernon Nazarene | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 11 | 3 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 2 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- On Saturday afternoon, The University of Saint Francis Cougars (27-23, 21-15 Crossroads League) took on Mount Vernon Nazarene University (22-24, 17-19 Crossroads League) in a doubleheader weekend series. The Cougars split the Season series with MVNU 2-2, winning both games on April 27th, and dropping both games on April 29th.
In game one of the April 29th series, Deron Swanson took the mound to start for the Cougars. Things would start off rough for the Cougars to open the series as Mount Vernon would come out swinging. It started with MVNU scoring a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning to make it 2-0. Then, MVNU would score off an error and a single to make it 4-0 in the 3rd. Luckily, the Cougars would start rolling as Sam Pesa hit a 2-run home run in the 4th to cut the deficit to 4-2. But, Mount Vernon would respond with a single in the 6th to make it 5-2. The Cougars would once again respond with 2 singles to cut the deficit once again to 5-4. But Mount Vernon would get hot again in the 8th scoring off 2 RBI doubles and a walk to make it 8-4. The Cougars would try to rally late with a single and Mike Jovanovic 2-run single to cut the deficit to 7-8, but that would be all the Cougars could muster. They would fall 7-8 to Mount Vernon in the first game of the series.
In the second game of the series, Hunter Frost took the mound to start for the Cougars. The Cougars this time would start off striking early to start the series as Noah Mack and Kolton Cardenas were both walked to make it 2-0 in the 1st. But, Mount Vernon had other plans as they responded with a a single and 3 runs off 2 errors to make it 4-2. Luckily, Sam Pesa responded with a grand slam to allow the Cougars to take the lead at 6-4 in the 2nd. Mount Vernon once again responded with a walk and 2-run single to make it 7-6. Once again, the Cougars responded with a Jayden Lepper 2-run home run to make it 8-8 in the 3rd. Then came the Mount Vernon storm as they scored off 4 errors and a 2-run single to go up 13-8 in the 4th.
After a brief rain delay, action resumed with the Cougars coming out fighting & scoring off an error to make it 13-9. Then, a Jayden Lepper RBI triple and an error allowed the Cougars to cut the deficit to 13-11 in the 5th. Then once again Mount Vernon rallied back scoring a solo home run and and RBI single to make it 15-11 in the 6th. Then a sacrifice fly from Zach Trojanowski would make it 15-12 in the 6th. Despite the Cougars trying to rally back in the 7th, rain had other factors and forced the game to be called. The Cougars would stall in game 2 for a 15-12 loss.
The Cougars close out their regular season and finish what was a mostly an exciting season. USF will compete in the post season Crossroads League Tournamanet and travel to face-off with the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats who received the 3-seed.
Cougar fans stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.
-Hayden Williamson-