STORM LAKE, Iowa (May 3, 2024) - The Buena Vista University baseball team was three outs away from a win in Friday's opener of a doubleheader against Dubuque, but the Spartans rallied for a 12-8 win before later going on to hold off the Beavers in the finale, 9-4, and complete the sweep.

Dubuque built a 5-0 lead in the opener before BVU cut into the deficit with three runs in the fifth. Sophomore Tegan Bock, who collected three hits in Thursday's opener, drove home the team's first run on Friday with an RBI single before graduate student Jordan Mathewson later added a two-run single to right to make it 5-3.

In the sixth, freshman Brandon Jenkins plated senior Zack Beekmann on a sacrifice fly before Bock's second RBI single of the game pulled BVU even at 5-5.

After the Spartans regained a 6-5 lead in the eighth with a solo home run, the Beavers came surging right back in the home half with a two-run single from junior Joel Garcia that gave the team its first lead of the day at 7-6 before junior Evan Taylor added an insurance run with a double that made it 8-6.

The first two batters of the ninth reached for Dubuque on a hit by pitch and walk which opened the door for a six-run half-inning for the Spartans which was capped by a three-run home run that made it 12-8.

Bock finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored while Garcia was 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI and one run scored. Beekmann chipped in with a pair of doubles as the Beavers tallied five doubles in the game.

Junior Mark Eddie made the start and battled through four-plus innings where he allowed five runs and six hits while waking five and striking out four. Freshman Jake Eddie suffered the loss in relief after being tagged for four runs and three hits during his one inning of work.

The Spartans picked up where they left off in the opener by scoring three times in the nightcap against freshman Ean McDaniel. BVU, however, came right back in the home half by scoring the first run on a wild pitch followed by RBI singles from seniors Calvin Harris and Grant Oseka.

A solo home run by Dubuque in the fourth made it 4-3 in the third before the Spartans tacked on two more runs in the fourth to make it 6-3.

Jenkins took the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the fourth and launched it well over the fence in the left for his second career blast and the first one on the home turf. It remained a two-run game until the eighth when Dubuque added two more runs before plating the game's final one in the ninth.

BVU threatened multiple times down the stretch by getting two hits in the eighth while stranding two runners before leaving the bases loaded to end the game.

Jenkins led the way with a three-hit performance and was a triple shy of the cycle. Bock added two more hits and finished the series with eight overall.

McDaniel matched his career-high by pitching seven innings and suffered just his second loss of the year (7-2). 

Buena Vista concludes the regular season at 27-11 overall (16-8 A-R-C) and will be the No. 2 seed in next week's American Rivers Conference Tournament.

The series marked the final homestand in the careers of eight players: Jordan Mathewson, Grant Oseka, Mason Gehling, Bradyen Polzien, Zack Beekmann, Calvin Harris, Zach Saale and Cayden Fischer.