[Baseball] BENU Wins Four One-Run Games Against MMU

In a span of 10 days, No. 23 Benedictine-Mesa took three out of four games against British Columbia and followed that up with a four-game sweep of Mount Mercy (Iowa) last week to give the Redhawks a 10-9 preseason record.  All four wins against MMU were by one run, the first three in walk-off fashion.  In the series opener, BENU scored three times in the bottom of the 9th to overtake MMU 7-6.  Josh Hernandez started the rally with a double and then scored on Orlando Lorduy's one-out single.  After Lorduy stole second and moved over to third on an error, Mason Velasquez tripled him home to tie the game.  Brock Johnson beat out an infield single to bring home the winning run.  BENU won the first game of a doubleheader on Friday, outlasting the Mustangs 6-5 in 11 innings after Johnson delivered his second straight walk-off win—this time on a bases-loaded walk.  In the second game of the day, the Redhawks again loaded the bases in their final at bat, and this time Noah Thompson came through with the game-winning single to five BENU a 3-2 win.  Matt Dinkel threw all seven innings for BENU, striking out 10, allowing just two hits, and walking only one to pick up the win.  In the series finale, the Redhawks took a one-run lead in the 7th on a sacrifice fly to make it 7-6, and Jackson Shepherd threw two scoreless innings to secure the win.