MOUNT VERNON, Ohio. – The Mount Vernon Nazarene University baseball team (33-14, 26-8) defeated the Huntington University Foresters (23-20, 20-14) across both games of its Friday, April 29 doubleheader in Mount Vernon. The Cougars won game one 13-0 in seven innings and dramatically erased a 13-3 deficit to come back and defeat Huntington 17-16 in game two.
The two key storylines on the day include the Cougars clinching, at minimum, a share of the Crossroads League regular season title and MVNU head coach Keith Veale picking up his 1,100th career coaching win after the game one victory over the Foresters.
Game One
MVNU starting pitcher Josh Pettit threw a gem in the first game of the afternoon. The sophomore righthander went 7.0 complete innings, allowing only two hits and four walks en route to a complete game shutout. Pettit struck out eight batters on the day.
The Cougars jumped on Huntington for six runs in the bottom half of the third inning. Toby Walker, who went 3-for-4 in the game with three RBI, tripled to right field to score Zackary Hoop. In the same inning, Jake Glover hit an RBI single and Clay Cottle hit a two-run double to left field.
Walker struck again in the fifth inning as his two-run single made it 9-0. Hogan Heck drove the final nail in the coffin as the right fielder blasted his first homerun of the season, a three-run shot to left field.
The Cougars’ 13-0 win was head coach Keith Veale’s 1,100th career coaching win, which is an amazing achievement for the MVNU coach. Veale entered 2022 ranked sixth in wins among all active coaches in the NAIA.
Game Two
Game two of the doubleheader was a roller coaster for everyone involved. Tied 3-3 going into the top of the third, the Foresters scored 10 runs, all with two outs to blow the game wide open. The Cougars seemed to labor through the inning and it would have seemed they had no chance of making a comeback, but the hosts’ fighting spirit kicked in as they would strike for seven runs of their own in the bottom of the third, meaning they only trailed 13-10. In the big inning, red-hot Andrew Miller was clutch for the home team, hitting a grand slam—his second in the last week and his first of three home runs in game two.
Miller struck again in the bottom of the very next inning as he crushed a two-run homerun over the left field wall to get the Cougars back within one run of Huntington, 13-12. The Foresters got another insurance run in the top of the fifth to make it 14-12.
In the sixth, it was Miller yet again with a two-run homer to tie the game at 14-apiece. Brady Wallace then singled, driving in Joe Poremsky, who was the go-ahead run. Heading into the top half of the final inning, the Cougars were finally in a position to win it with two outs, but an error allowed the Foresters to tie the game up and force extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Huntington hit a go-ahead homerun to once again crush the spirits of the home team and the Cougar fans in attendance. However, MVNU was once again not ready to just lie down and roll over. In the bottom of the eighth, Casey Kalman’s RBI single tied the game and Cameron Miller came up with the clutch, walk-off RBI single to left field.
“It was definitely one of the craziest games I’ve ever experienced as a Cougar,” said Cameron Miller. “I was just glad I could seal the deal tonight in one of my last games at Cougar Field.”
MVNU’s magic number to clinch the outright Crossroads League regular season title is now down to one, with a victory tomorrow or a Taylor loss versus Grace guaranteeing the Cougars postseason baseball at the NAIA national tournament.
What’s Next
The Cougars finish their Crossroads League regular season campaign tomorrow, Saturday, April 30 with another doubleheader against Huntington. Game one begins at 12:00pm and game two will follow right after. Senior day festivities will take place before the first game.