March 23, 2023 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

BEREA, Ky. -- It was back and forth from start to finish, but the Sabercats emerged with a 13-16 loss after a nine-inning slugfest at Berea College tonight.

The 13-run showing was the Sabercats' most productive offensive showing this season. They now look to build on this as they anticipate Tuesday and a doubleheader at Kalamazoo College at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 13-16 Berea
• Venue: Berea College Baseball Field
• Location: Berea, Ky.
• Attendance: -
• Records: MBU (0-5), BC (4-17)

STORY

Maranatha started with a three-run statement in their opening at-bat. Judson Martin got things started with a sacrifice fly to bring home Joe Anderson. And when Ty Smith scored from a Tim Nickels ground ball and David Cripps crossed home plate on a wild pitch, it was 3-0 after a one-hit first inning for the Sabercats.

Things got better from there.

Michael Cripps ran home off a throwing error, putting the Sabercats up 4-1, then back-to-back RBI singles from Anderson and Teddy Haugen made it a 6-1 game in the top of the second. Anderson kept the Mountaineers to just one run through the first two innings and Maranatha found themselves buckled into the driver's seat.

Berea answered with three runs in the bottom of the third inning, and right away it looked like a dogfight would ensue.

RBI singles from Anderson and Martin boosted Maranatha's total, but the key inning came in the bottom of the fifth when the Mountaineers scored eight runs off of two hits, highlighted by a triple from Giovanni Ortiz. Those eight runs capped off a 13-run stretch over three innings for the hosts, who went from 6-1 down to an 8-14 lead through five stanzas.

David Cripps resumed the scoring for Maranatha with an RBI single to plate his brother Michael, but Berea negated that one-run showing with a run of their own in the bottom of the eighth. It was down to the Sabercats' final at-bat as a team to make something happen.

And they came close to pulling it off. Smith smacked an RBI double to kickstart some momentum for Maranatha, and after David Cripps and Smith both scored on passed balls, the Sabercats were just three runs behind. But that was as close as they would come. With one out, Maranatha would load the bases and leave all three runners stranded, marking a thrilling ending to a thrilling game in Berea.

Anderson led the way offensively with three hits and two RBIs, while Haugen with 3-5 with one RBI. David Cripps, Smith, Martin, and Michael Cripps all had two hits on the day. Smith was the only Sabercat to record an extra-base hit. 

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Maranatha Lineup (Game Two) - 7- D. Cripps C, 19- Smith SS, 9- Anderson P, 18- Haugen 1B, 23- Nickels RF, 17- Ju. Martin 3B, 15- Piranian LF, 4- M. Cripps CF, 2- Fredrickson 2B

STATS

• Box Score
• Last Time: Berea defeated Maranatha in a doubleheader on March 23, 2017. BC (3, 8) - MBU (2, 1)
• Series: Berea leads the all-time series against Maranatha 8-0

OPPONENTS

• Berea competes in the Collegiate Conference of the South (NCAA-Dlll)
• Berea finished the 2022 season with a record of 5-33

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Kalamazoo, Michigan to take on Kalamazoo College on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. EDT. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.