By Don Gilmore, Sports Information

No matter the score, the Mustangs were going to win Monday’s baseball game.

Why? Because the mascot for The Master’s University and visiting Morningside of Iowa is the Mustang.

Morningside turned out to be the better Mustangs on a cold, windy afternoon at Lou Herwaldt Stadium, using a trio of hurlers to stifle TMU bats in a 3-1 victory.

“We’re just not producing at the plate,” said TMU head coach Monte Brooks of his Mustang squad that is now 14-9.

That lack of production was evidenced by just five hits and one lone run.

Brooks’ statement was more than about his team’s performance at the plate on Monday. Over the past six games, five of those losses, the Mustangs have hit a combined .186.

Quieting the TMU bats initially was Morningside’s Richard Mitchell. The senior righthander held TMU to just three hits in 5 2/3 innings of work. He retired the first eight batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until Preston White led off the fourth inning with a double to left field.

One out later with White at third base, Aaron Shackelford laid down a bunt that scored his teammate with the tying run.

After allowing a Jaiden France single and walking the bases loaded in the sixth, Mitchell was lifted with two outs for reliever Jared Sorenson, who promptly struck out Pearson Good to end the threat.

Sorenson pitched through the eighth, going 2 1/3 innings of hitless ball and striking out four TMU batters.

Morningside closer Elliott Conover closed things out in the ninth but it wasn’t without some adventure.

Good laced a leadoff single to left field. Nick Tuttle reached on a fielder’s choice and then advanced to second base on Ryan Bricker’s base hit, bringing the potential tying run to the plate.

However, Conover clutched up, getting Max Maitland on a popout and then White on a called third strike to end the game.

France (0-3) was tagged with the loss for the Mustangs despite five strong innings of five-hit ball that featured five strikeouts.

He gave up two earned runs, the first one coming in the third inning when Morningside used a single, a sacrifice, a wild pitch, and a groundout to take a 1-0 lead.

Three innings later, France allowed a couple of singles starting off the sixth and was pulled for reliever Aidan Stout. Those two runners eventually scored, one of them in unearned fashion following a TMU error.

Morningside tacked on an insurance run in the eighth.

Hoping to get their hitting shoes back on, the Mustangs return to GSAC action this weekend when they host Arizona Christian in a three-game series that starts Friday afternoon at 3:00pm on Reese Field.