By MATT KING/Daily Journal Sports Writer

Published: Sunday, March 26, 2006
Updated: Saturday, March 25, 2006 11:34 PM CST

HILLSBORO - The Mineral Area College baseball team received excellent pitching against rival Jefferson on Saturday afternoon, but the offense provided little support with the inability to produce the clutch hit.

The Cardinals saw their inauspicious start take another deflating turn with a pair of tough losses as the Vikings completed a double-header sweep, pairing a 1-0 victory in game one with a 4-3 extra-inning triumph.

Mineral Area committed three errors and stranded nine men on base in their game one shutout loss, twice leaving the bases loaded against Jefferson starter Dustin Renfrow.

Tyler Stahl and Seth Kimrey each collected singles, and Brandon Crook reached on a wild third strike to load the bases with two outs in the second inning, but a sharp fly out to left field ended the threat.

A ground out left the bases full in the third inning, and the Cardinals would not manage another hit in the game. Gerad Bryan retired the final seven batters he faced to earn the save for Jefferson (24-3).

The offensive failure wasted a superb performance from MAC hurler Michael Hardin. The sophomore from Minnesota allowed just four hits and struck out three in the complete-game loss. He also picked off a base runner in the sixth to prevent a potential rally.

The Vikings scored the lone run of the contest in the home half of the third. Catcher Zac Bone led off with a single, and reached third base on a wild pitch with one out. Former Cardinal Ryan Dickerman picked up the RBI when his ground ball was booted near second base.

Mineral Area appeared to be on its way to earning a split after taking a two-run lead in game two, but Jefferson used one big swing of the bat to draw even before breaking through in the ninth inning to win a battle of bullpens.

The Cardinals lost base-runners in each of the first two innings on strong throws by outfielders Brad Mountjoy and Eric McDaniel, but managed to strike for three tallies in the third.

Singles by Crook and Aaron Miller set the table, and Stahl delivered a RBI hit just beyond the reach of the shortstop to tie the game at 1-1. Ryan Blankenship and Kimrey then drew consecutive walks with the bases loaded to give MAC the lead, but pitcher Chad Smith induced a shallow fly ball and a strikeout to minimize the damage.

Doubles by Eric McDaniel and Peter Tountas in the second inning against MAC starter Luke Holland helped the Vikings score first. Jefferson failed to convert in the third despite receiving four walks, thanks to an excellent throw from Blankenship in right field to cut down Dickerman at third base.

Holland would settle for a no-decision after serving up a game-tying, two-run homer to Scott Talbert with one out in the fourth.

The Cardinals picked up singles from Stahl in the seventh inning, and Tony Spencer in the ninth, but failed to capitalize on either scoring chance against Derek Dunne, who pitched six scoreless innings of relief to earn the win.

Mineral Area's Andy Moss worked around two walks in the eighth inning, but issued a crucial free pass to start the ninth. Two intentional walks were issued after Brandon Flood stole two bases, and Zak Shy pushed the winning run across with a RBI walk-off single to right.

Mineral Area pitchers combined to issue 12 walks in the game, but freshman Ryan Hilton was strong on the mound in relief, working 3 2/3 innings with no runs or hits allowed.

Stahl led the MAC offense by finishing 3-for-4 with a double. Crook and Miller were each 2-for-4 with one run scored.

Mineral Area (3-15) will host region foe Maple Woods today for a double-header starting at 1 p.m.

Mineral Area 000 000 0 - 0 3 3

Jefferson 001 000 X - 1 4 1

WP - Renfrow 4i 0r 3h 2k 2bb 1hp.

LP - Hardin 6i 1r 4h 3k 1bb.

SV - Bryan 3i 0r 0h 2k 1bb.

Hitting:

Mineral Area - Bard, Stahl, Kimrey.

Jefferson - Mountjoy, Whitehead, Bone, Talbert.

Mineral Area 003 000 000 - 3 9 0

Jefferson 010 200 001 - 4 6 1

WP - Dunne 6i 0r 4h 5k 1bb 1hb.

LP - Moss 1 1/3i 1r 1h 2k 5bb.

Hitting:

Mineral Area - Stahl 3, Miller 2, Crook 2, Spencer, Hulsey. 2b - Stahl.

Jefferson - Randazzo, Mountjoy, Shy, McDaniel, Tountas, Talbert. 2b - McDaniel, Tountas. HR - Talbert.