Park University's baseball program had a four-game slide against (RV) Doane University on Sunday and Monday for the opening games at Comfort Field in 2023.

The Pirates are 6-7 on the season after the series with the Tigers, while Doane improves to 11-3 on the season. The Great Plains Athletic Conference opponent has already beat three Heart of America Athletic Conference teams this Spring, including MidAmerica Nazarene University on two separate occasions.

The Tigers outscored Park 45-12 in the series and hit .325 to Park's 231. It also was an uncharacteristic 13 errors for Park compared to Doane's three.

Trent Turner led Park in hits with four, while Kenneth Melendez and Casey Mareschal added three hits each to the totals. Turner also led Park with four RBI's, including a two-run home run in game two on Sunday.

Walks plagued Park, as 21 Tigers reached with a free pass to 12 walks allowed by Doane. Park's Monday starters earned the most strikeouts, as Zayne Morrow struck out six in five innings and his teammate Hunter Edwards recorded five strikeouts in four innings.

So far in 2023, an interesting turning point may have been the final game in the Rube Foster Classic against Northwestern College (IA) a week ago on February 27. That is the only game Park has been shutout this season and before that game, Park averaged over nine runs a game over their first eight games for a total of 78 runs. Needless to say, the Tigers held Park below their season average in runs scored.

GAME 1 |  1-10 | Box Score

Both teams were scoreless through the first three innings of play in game one. Adam Stilts for Park put together a quality outing, but as the game went on a costly throwing error on a bunt allowed the game's first two runs to score in the top of the fourth.

Two more runs came in during that fourth inning for the Tigers, all unearned. A single and a sacrifice fly helped do the job for Doane to establish the lead mid-way through the contest.

Doane's Aaron Forrest gave Park trouble throwing a complete game with eight strikeouts.

One run scored in the bottom of the fifth for the Pirates off of a ground out by Morrow to score Blake Antle, who courtesy ran for the Ricardo Hernandez. Hernandez drove a single through the middle to begin the inning to help get Park on the board.

No more runs scored for Park the rest of the game, while the Tigers added six more between the sixth and the seventh.

Melendez hit the lone double for Park in the game.

GAME 2 | 5-11 | Box Score

The Tigers hit two home runs in game one and continued to see the ball well with another pair of home runs in game two. It was their second straight game of 10 or more runs scored.

Angel Lebron had the ball in game two, but ran into a disciplined Tiger lineup that drew five walks in just over two innings. Doane challenged Park off of a sacrifice bunt, sending a runner who scored off of a throwing error. Lebron was able to bear down and work out of a jam with only one run scoring though.

The second inning a solo home run started a three-run inning for the Tigers. By the end of the top of the third, it quickly became 9-0 after a home run and four more hits to put up a crooked number.

Park was gifted a run after four straight walks to begin the inning. Two pitching changes came in the third for the Tigers and Park earned two more runs off of a Hernandez ground out to second and a Turner single through the left side.

The next runs of the would also come from the bat of Turner as he got a hold of a ball for Park's first 2023 home run at Comfort Field. Park then trailed 9-5 through the fifth.

The final runs came off of an infield single for the Tigers in the seventh to score one run and then in the same play a failed back pick attempt got past second base to score the 11^th run.

GAME 3 |1-17 | Box Score

Doane scored in all but one inning in game three, starting off with an error by the third basemen to score two unearned runs.

Hunter Edwards got the ball on the hill for Park and despite beginning the game with a two lead-off walks, he escaped with minimal damage in his first three innings.

Park took advantage of a leadoff single by Melendez and hit by pitch on Bryce Dye to eventually get a run across. Turner did a job by using the opposite field to score Melendez on an RBI single.

The next inning the Tigers broke the game open though with eight runs on seven hits, including a triple to right centerfield.

Doane kept their foot on the gas in the final two innings, tacking on five more runs, 17-1.  

GAME 4 | 5-7 | Box Score

Morrow had an effective game on the mound and worked through two errors in the field and a double that was part of a three-run inning. He closed out his outing with two consecutive scoreless innings and six strikeouts.

Park retaliated in the next half inning in the bottom of the second scoring five runs on three hits and one error.

The starting pitcher, Morrow, decided to take matters into his own hands with a nice double to left center by staying inside the baseball. Doane decided to more or less pitch around Turner as he drew the walk. Mareschal got the wheels turning for the Pirates with a single to left center to score the courtesy runner, Corey Bradford.

Daniel Maldonado snuck a ball through the left side to score Turner and then two straight walks tied the game 3-3. Billy Rivera faced a new pitcher for the Tigers and reached on a fielder's choice on attempted double play. The shortstop air-mailed his throw to the first basemen though to bring in Armando Ramirez from second base. Two runs scored and Park took its first lead of the series.

Doane got four more runs back in the last three innings though. A double scored a run in the fifth and then a very rare pair of runs came in to score in the top of the sixth. First off, a run scored off of an overthrow back to the pitcher to score a run from third and then with two outs, Doane stole home for the go-ahead run.

Jesse Scholtz receives the loss since they were his runners that scored and in the inning. All things considered, Scholtz and Bryce Perdieu both pitched well. Perdieu struck out his only two batters, but the Tigers decided to roll the dice for the go ahead run. At the start of the inning, Scholtz really only allowed an infield base hit to the leadoff hitter and a throwing error on an already safe runner past the first baseman put Scholtz in a tough position from the start. A bunt single came next only because a miscommunication on the infield on who was covering first. It was the little things that piled up towards the end of the game though, as Doane completed the comeback, 7-5.

Park has their opening Heart conference series against William Penn University on Saturday and Sunday, March 11 and 12.  Watch the live action here.