Mackenzie Hancock’s RBI single in the third inning stood up to help the Mount Vernon Nazarene University softball team to a 5-4 victory at Grace, completing a doubleheader sweep in Crossroads League play on Tuesday, March 30, in Winona Lake, Indiana.
The Cougars (8-4, 6-4) scored three runs in the first before giving up four runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Kaycee Ollis singled to start the third inning and scored to tie the game on Courtney Knepper’s base hit. Hancock later drove in Katelyn Perkins, who had reached via a walk earlier in the frame.
Perkins worked 5 1/3 innings of relief, allowing three hits and a walk with one strikeout to earn the win in the circle.
Ollis had two hits, a walk, scored twice and drove in a run to lead the Cougars to a 7-1 win in the opener.
Sheridan Sullivan went the distance, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out 14 batters to earn the victory. She also tossed a scoreless inning in Game 2.
Britney Young had three hits — including a three-run homer — in the second game, and Jeri Ellis had two hits and a run in Game 1 to lead the Lancers (3-25, 3-9).
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Levi Weaver went out with a bang, tying for an MVNU-best 12 kills to lead the Cougars to a 25-23, 25-22, 25-19 straight-set win over Thomas More on Tuesday, March 30, at Ariel Arena.
The senior played his final game with Cougars (9-10) and tied Landon Ewers with 12 kills. Ewers led with 2.5 blocks as well.
Spencer Stanley was also solid with nine kills and two blocks, Jaysen Matsuomoto had 39 assists and eight digs, Daniel Skrzypchak had 11 digs and Caden Donaldson served up three aces for MVNU.
Cameron Ware had eight kills and two aces, Mason Cobler had 25 assists and two aces, Jonathon Litzler had 10 digs and Jacob Wehrman had 2.5 blocks for the Saints (5-15).
CROSS COUNTRY
Morgan Forney and Garrett Gemmaka will see the efforts of a strong fall season come to fruition at the NAIA national meet on April 9 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Forney will run in the women’s 5K race at 10:30 a.m., and Gemmaka will follow in the men’s 8K race at 11:30 a.m.
The duo unofficially qualified at the Crossroads League meet on Nov. 6 in Marion, Indiana. Forney ran a time of 18:48.1 to finish 10th out of 109 runners, while Gemmaka ran a time of 25:41.2 to finish eighth out of 118 runners at the league meet.
MEN’S GOLF
Riley Wilcoxon turned in a two-day score of 163 to lead MVNU to a ninth-place finish out of 14 teams in the Garn Championship at Keen Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
Wilcoxon led the Cougars with a 77 on the first day. Dylan Errington shot a 166, followed by Thad Weaver (169), Austin Goodwill (170), Brandon Main (170), Brock Dettmer (171) and Michael Hahn (200) for MVNU.
