Game 1 - Pioneers 2... Dawson 6
Dawson used one big inning as the Bucs piled on 6 runs in the bottom of the 5th to pull out a 6-2 win over the visiting Pioneers in Game 1 on Wednesday afternoon.
The Pioneers got things started in the 2nd inning when DH Clay Prell (Miles City, MT) drew a walk and was sacrificed to second base by 3B Lane Neill (Belgrade, MT). SS Tyler Tenney (Helena, MT) took advantage with a RBI single to centerfield to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead.
The 3rd inning started with a free pass as 2B Ryota Kusumoto was hit by a pitch and then stole 2nd. Kusumoto moved to 3rd on a fly out by CF Jake Lacey (Gillette, MT). 1B Tim Holyk was hit by a pitch and RF Ian Krump (Rapid City, SD) walked to load the bases. Prell hit a line shot to second base and Kusumoto scored on a Dawson error.
MCC only got 4 hits in the game with Tenney going 2-3 (RBI), Krump was 1-2, and LF Grant Gabbert (Thorton, CO) was 1-3. The Pioneers had no extra base hits in the game.
Bridger Erickson (St. Anthony, ID) had a 1-hitter going in to the 5th inning and finished the game going 4.1 innings (6 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 2 SO) before being replaced by Noah Aliff (Centralia, WA). Aliff pitched the final 1.2 innings (0 R, 0 H).
Game 2 - Pioneers 9... Dawson 8
The MCC Pioneers salvaged a split of the road trip to Glendive taking a commanding 9-3 lead going to the 7th inning before holding on for a 9-8 win on Wednesday afternoon.
Dawson got things started in the bottom of the 1st inning scoring a run on a wild pitch by Cameron Murphy (Torrington, WY). The Pioneers tied things up in the 2nd after Ian Krump singled and stole 2nd base. He advanced to 3rd when DH Tommy O'Connell (Kalispell, MT) grounded out and scored on a Tyler Tenney sacrifice fly to rightfield.
The Pioneers took a 2-1 lead in the 3rd when courtesy runner Matt Burton (Helena, MT) scored on a DCC balk. Dawson answered with 2 runs in the bottom of the 4th after a crucial Pioneer error to take a 3-2 lead.
The Pioneers answered with 5 runs in the top of the 5th inning after C Karter Yancey (St. Anthony, ID) singled and Jake Lacey walked. Tim Holyk heated up his bat again with a 2 RBI double to centerfield that put the Pioneers up 4-3. Ian Krump drew a walk and the runners moved to 2nd and 3rd on a wild pitch. O'Connell then smacked a 2 RBI triple to leftfield and the Pioneers led 6-3. Tyler Tenny kept his hot bat going with a single to center that drove in O'Connell for a 7-3 Pioneer lead going to the bottom of the 5th.
The Pioneer onslaught continued in the 6th when Yancey singled and Jake Lacey doubled. Tim Holyk added 2 RBI to his total with a single to left and the Pioneers led 9-3.
Holyk finished the game 2-4 (2B, 4 RBI, 1 R) and Karter Yancey had a solid day at the plate going 3-4. Tyler Tenney was 2-3 (2 RBI) and Tommy O'Connell was 1-4 (3B, 2 RBI) to highlight the MCC game at the plate.
The game got dicey in the bottom of the as the Bucs tallied 5 runs without an out and had runners on base when the Pioneers finally closed the door with a 9-8 win. Cameron Murphy (Torrington, WY) got the start on the mound and went 6.0 innings (3 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 SO). Murphy was replaced in the 7th inning by Patrick Dietz (Manhattan, MT) who gave up 5 runs on 4 hits without recording an out. Noah Aliff came in to close things out with another perfect inning of work.
The Pioneers win the season series over Dawson 3-1. MCC is now 24-18 overall and 8-8 in MonDak Conference play. The Pioneers are scheduled to face Lake Region State College on Friday at 12:00 and 2:30 PM. They will then play Dakota College at Bottineau in Miles City on Saturday and Sunday with games at 12:00 and 2:30 PM both days.