TIFFIN – The Heidelberg University Baseball team earned an impressive conference sweep of visiting Mount Union on a brisk Friday afternoon in Peaceful Valley. Heidelberg won a pitcher's duel in the opener, 3-2, then won a wild 9-6 nightcap.  

Heidelberg improved to 16-5 overall and 4-0 in the OAC. Mount Union dropped to 14-6, 2-2  

Andrew Cook led the way with four hits on the day, including two doubles and a prodigious two-run homer. He finished with four RBIs. 

GAME ONE:  BERG 3-7-0   MOUNT 2-5-4

Braedy Limke led off the home half of the first with a solid single to left. After advancing on a groundout, he was able to score on a dropped fly ball to deep right field off the bat of Thomas Sauer.

Limke scored another unearned run in the third. Aboard with a double down the left field line, he advanced on a ground out and scored on an errant throw on a ground ball hit to second by Camden Farley. 

A triple and a wild pitch allowed Mount Union to push a run across in the sixth, but Heidelberg responded with its third unearned run of the game in the bottom of the inning. Farley reached on a muffed throw and moved to second on a bloop single by Aidan Corrigan. Andrew Cook followed with a double down the left field line that scored Farley. 

Mount inched to within one in the eighth, but squandered a big opportunity. The first two batters sent singles up the middle and a passed ball put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly plated a run. A walk put runners on first and second with one out and ended the day for 'Berg starter Jackson Powers. Closer Corey Brafford entered and promptly drilled his first batter to load the bases. On a 1-0 pitch, Brafford induced a 6-3 inning-ending double play.  

Powers (4-0) was stellar in 7.1 innings. He allowed two runs on five hits, striking out five. 

Brafford earned his second save of the season, finishing the game with a 1-2-3 ninth. 

GAME TWO: BERG 9-13-2  MOUNT 7-11-5

Mount played from in front in the second game, plating four runs in the top of the second. The damage could have been more severe, but second baseman Andrew Pokley nabbed a runner at the plate on a relay throw and catcher Thomas Sauer back-picked a runner at third to end the inning.

Heidelberg answered with three in the bottom of the second. Adam McVicker drew a walk, calmly dropping his bat after an 11-pitch at bat. Sauer reached on an infield single to third. With one out, Andrew Pokley sent a ground ball to first. Trying to get the out at second, the throw hit Sauer and the bases were loaded. Reece McNeely served a single to right that scored one. Still with one out, Kyle Mottice sent a bouncer to the left side. Mount got an out at second, but the relay to first was offline, allowing a total of two runs to score.  

Ahead 4-3 in the third, Mount again ran into trouble on the basepaths. With one out and one on, Eric Schilling drilled a double off the wall in left center. The ball caromed back to Mottice in center who threw to McNeely at the edge of the infield. McNeely fired the ball home where Sauer applied the tag in time for the out. Alertly, Sauer threw to Limke at third to try to get Schilling advancing. Schilling beat the throw, but overslid the base and was tagged for the third out.  

HU rode the momentum into the bottom of the inning. Corrigan doubled off the Jeffrey Jewelry banner on the right field wall and moved to third on a single by Farley. McVicker followed with a game-tying single, calmly dropping his bat after driving a liner to right. Cook gave the Student Princes the lead when he drove a double into the left field corner, scoring Farley. HU led, 5-4.

Mount Union tied the game with a bases-loaded balk in the fifth, then took the lead with a solo homer in the seventh.  

Heidelberg roared back in the home half of the seventh. Corrigan singled up the middle and Farley bounced a base hit through a hole on the left side. McVicker tied the game with an RBI single, calmly dropping his bat as he ran to first. Corrigan scored on the play, and Farley moved to third on a bobbled ball in right. On the first pitch of the ensuing at bat, Sauer tried to lay down a squeeze bunt, but the ball was high and tight. McVicker stole second on the play, but the throw to third to try to pick off Farley sailed into left field. Farley got up and scored the go-ahead run. Two batters later, Andrew Cook obliterated the baseball, launching a majestic two-run homer to the banks of Rock Creek in left.  Heidelberg led 9-6.  

Corbin Caplan, who came on in relief in the third, finished off six strong innings by working out of a two-on, no-out jam in the eighth. He scattered five hits. 

Brafford entered in the ninth and earned his second save on the day. He allowed one run to score, but did not allow Mount Union to gather any momentum. 

UP NEXT: 

Heidelberg hits the road on Tuesday and Wednesday for single, non-conference games at Manchester and Defiance.