Mustangs Split Finale of Season Opening Series

PAPILLION, Neb. - The Mount Mercy baseball team split the final pair of games from the season opening slate, beating Mount Marty, 5-4, before falling to the Lancers by four in the finale.

Game One

The Mustangs were able to push across five runs on seven hits during Sunday's opener, led by Derek Einertson, who went 2-4 with a pair of RBI's to go along with Jeremy Figueroa's two RBI outing.

Einertson got the scoring started in the top of the second with an RBI double, scoring Tyler Pecson. That was followed up with Figueroa's two run bomb in the third inning, which was his second on the young season. Pecson would extend the lead to four on a sac fly, scoring Josh Notriano.

The Lancers were able to cut the four run lead in half in the bottom half of the third inning as Lucas Kampshoff drove in a run, while William Johnson drove in a run on a single to center, trimming the Mustang lead to two. Einertson would then extend the lead back to three in the fifth on an RBI single, scoring Yahirdavi Ortiz. The Lancers, however, would get a couple runs back on a sac fly and a runner scoring on a passed ball, as the scoring would end at 5-4.

Tyler Nagelbach earned his first victory of the 2025 campaign, throwing five innings of four hit baseball, allowing just two runs and striking out three. Erik Kiewiet earned his first save of his Mustangs career, closing the door on a potential Mount Marty comeback, pitching one inning of one hit ball. Slayder Watterson was tabbed with the loss, pitching three innings while allowing four runs and striking out two.

Game Two

The Mustangs had trouble getting the spark on offense, only managing four hits in the series finale. Garrett Dennis, Nick Meyer, Tyler Pecson, and Josh Notriano would each record a hit, while Dennis would draw the lone walk on offense.

The Lancers struck first on a Cannon Marshall RBI single in the bottom of the second. Joe Gokie would then add a pair of RBI's of his own in the second, extending the Lancer lead to three. Following Gokie's double, Jalen Owens would add an RBI single to make the lead four after two innings of play, as neither team would be able to drive a run across for the remainder of the game.

Palmer Jacobs earned his first win of the season for the Lancers, pitching five innings of four hit ball while striking out four. In his first start as a Mustang, Jake Weissenberger was tabbed with the loss, pitching just over three innings while allowing four runs and seven hits, while striking out four.

The Mustangs will take the next week off before returning to the diamond in Missouri, next taking on Missouri Baptist on February 14.