INDIANOLA, Iowa (Mar. 22, 2024) - Junior Joel Garcia finished 3-for-6, including a single into left center field with two outs in the bottom of the 15th inning that scored Drew Taylor from second and lifted the Buena Vista baseball team to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Simpson College here at McBride Field on Friday afternoon. The game was the American Rivers Conference opener for both teams.

Jordan Mathewson led off the home half of the inning with a walk but was later forced out at second on a fielder's choice from the catcher with Drew Taylor at the plate. After Evan Taylor flew out to center for the second out, Taylor then stole second and came around to score on Garcia's game-winner.

The game turned into a pitcher's duel from the opening pitch. Both starters went deep into the game and the two sides combined for 33 strikeouts and only 15 hits.

Evan Taylor broke a scoreless game in the fourth inning when he laced a single down the right field line that scored brother Drew. Senior Calvin Harris made it a 2-0 game in the sixth when he lifted a sacrifice fly to into right field that scored Evan Taylor.

Simpson had one of its biggest threats of the game in the seventh inning when it put runners at first and third with just one out. Tysen McAlexander then laced a triple down the left field line that plated both runs and tied the game at 2-2 and only one out. That base knock was the only extra-base hit by either team in the game. BVU starter Morgan Smith was able to get out of the jam with a foul out to Taylor and then a pop out to Garcia at short.

BVU stranded the potential go-ahead run at first base in the eighth while the Storm stranded one at first in the ninth.

Smith was lifted after matching a career-high with nine innings pitched, allowing only one earned run and three hits while striking out nine and walking three. He would hand the ball over to Harris who turned in a career performance on the mound. The fifth-year right hander went the rest of the way, scattering only four hits, striking out a career-high six and walking three.

Simpson starter Trey Castile matched Smith all game long before being lifted after eight innings. He also allowed just one earned run and four hits while striking out 11 and walking three.

The Storm did not get a runner past second base down the stretch until the 15th when they stole second and advanced to third with two outs before a groundout ended the frame.

Aside from Garcia, Mathewson (2-for-6) was the only other player with multiple hits in the contest for BVU which totaled eight overall. He now has 210 hits in his career which pulls him within 13 of tying the program's all-time mark. Harris now has 18 career sacrifice flies which extends his school record in which he set against Dominican University last weekend.

Simpson ended with seven hits, including two each from Dalton Ferrin and Ian Baldwin. The two teams stranded a combined 22 runners.

BVU has now won 21 of its last 24 A-R-C games dating back to last season and eight of the last 10 played against the Storm since the start of the 2022 campaign. The Beavers improves to 12-4 on the year (1-0 A-R-C) while Simpson is now 7-9 overall (0-1 A-R-C).

Due to the length of the game and the dropping temperatures, the teams switched to playing the doubleheader until Saturday. First pitch of game one is currently set for 12 p.m.