LEESBURG, Fla. – The Mount Vernon Nazarene University baseball team (1-1, 1-1 CL) opened the 2023 season and Crossroads League Play in Florida, Feb. 28 with a doubleheader against Bethel University (8-6, 1-1 CL) and the Cougars emerged with a 3-2 win in game one and fell 9-2 in the second game.

In game one, MVNU took the lead late after Zackary Hoop singled, bringing in a Cougar run. Maxwell Donawa picked up the win for the Cougars, allowing two hits and no earned runs in one inning of work in the eighth. Donawa then turned the ball over to Cruz McFadden, who earned the save for MVNU.

Casey Kalman led the Cougar attack offensively, going deep in the fourth inning. As a team, MVNU had seven hits. Josh Pettit was strong on the mound for MVNU in the 3-2 win. Pettit went seven deep, allowing just two runs on three hits while striking out six at the plate.

Game two was a different story for the Cougars as the Pilots woke up offensively. Bethel scored four runs in the first four innings and finished with nine total off of nine hits. Jarin Bertke drew the start on the mound for MVNU. The sophomore went four innings and allowed four hits and two earned runs. The righty struck out seven batters.

Offense was hard to come by in the second game of the doubleheader for MVNU as it scored just two runs on three hits in the ballgame, losing 9-2.