Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 Park University's baseball program made their second appearance at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship Tournament in Ozark, Mo. at Ozark Mountain Sports Complex from Thursday through Tuesday, May 2-7. The Pirates were hot at the right time and went 5-2 for the tournament and are the 2024 Heart Conference Tournament Runner-Up.

The Pirates have much to celebrate, as a new program record in wins in a single-season was set with a 35-17 overall record. This also marks Park's first NAIA Opening Round appearance in program history in the same season that Head Coach Cary Lundy surpasses 500 career wins.

The Pirates were the No. 4 seed in the double-elimination tournament. In the seven games they had five games with four games of 10 runs or more scored. As a team, Park hit .308 and scored 61 runs on 20 doubles, two triples, and five home runs.

The Pirates had four individuals make the all-tournament team, including Victor Sanchez-Ramos, Alex Rodriguez, Gilberto Torres, and Adam Stilts. All but Rodriguez were in their first conference tournament appearance. 

Securing the 2024 Heart Conference Tournament MVP award was Sanchez, as he went 13-of-25 with two home runs, two doubles, and eight RBI's, which includes a walk-off home run against Central Methodist.

Tournament Leaders for Park – FOR FULL TOURNAMENT STATS CLICK HERE:
BATTING

BATTING AVG	ON BASE PCT	HITS	RUNS
Sanchez - .520	Sanchez - .586	Sanchez – 13	Bradford – 9
Torres - .414	Morrow - .536	Torres – 12	Sanchez – 8
Johnson - .375	Torres - .486	Rodriguez – 10	Torres – 7
Morrow - .350	Santana - .462	Bradford – 8	Rodriguez – 7
Bradford - .320	Bradford - .433	Morrow - 7	Maldonado - 7
RBI'S	2B	HR	SB
Torres – 13	Torres – 5	Sanchez – 2	Sanchez – 5
Sanchez – 8	Morrow – 3	Bradford – 1	Bradford – 1
Bradford – 7	Sanchez – 2	Schram – 1	Rivera - 1
Schram – 5	Penrod – 2	Short - 1	-
Hernandez/Rivera - 4	Rodriguez - 2	-	-

 
PITCHING

Appearances	IP	OPP BAT AVG	SO
Barnett – 4	Stilts – 11.0	Goldston - .250	Lozada – 8
Lozada – 3	Goldston – 7.1	Lozada - .300	Perdieu – 4
Perdieu – 3	Perdieu – 6.0	Aguirre - .316	Hoffman – 4
Stilts/Hoffman – 3	Barnett – 5.2	Perdieu - .333	Goldston – 4
Del Olmo/Brady - 3	Hoffman – 5.2	Barnett - .364	Stilts/Gelpi - 3

 
GAME 1 vs No. 5 Baker | W, 11-7 | Box Score
In the first game of the conference tournament, the Pirates were matched up with No. 5 Baker University, a team that Park defeated 3-1 in the regular season series.

Both teams had double-figure hits, 11 for Park and 14 for Baker, and each team had an error. Each team had 11 runners left on base, but the Pirates had two key double-plays turned up the middle to shut down the Wildcats' innings.

Two singles and a walk in the first inning got the Pirates off to a good start and two runs would come in to score in the top of the first on a fielder's choice from Ramos and a sacrifice fly by Ricardo Hernandez.

Stilts would throw a gem to tie the Pirates' single-season wins record with nine in 2024. He would last six innings, including keeping the Wildcats off the board through the first five innings.

Park scored a bundle of five runs in the sixth inning, showcasing a grand slam from senior outfielder Corey Bradford. Another sacrifice fly from Park's Gilberto Torres made it a 7-0 ballgame.

A sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth made it 6-1, but the Pirates would get two runs back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from Bradford and a double-play hit by Rodriguez to get another run across.

Three consecutive Wildcats reached on a triple, single, and a walk in the bottom of the seventh to end Stilts' day and Bryan Aguirre took over. Aguirre ran into a hot part of the Wildcats' lineup and he would only last two-thirds of an inning after two hits and a walk. Alex Lozada would come in to relieve Aguirre to close out the seventh, but not before a total of five runs scored in the inning, 9-6.

Perdieu would come in to earn a career-high five saves on the season in the last two innings of the game, which is No. 3 all-time at Park. This makes 11 saves in the career of the senior from Blue Springs, Mo., the all-time saves leader at Park.

The offense game some breathing room for Perdieu in the top of the ninth with a Daniel Maldonado RBI single and a Torres hit by pitch with the bases loaded to finish the game at 11-7.

GAME 2 vs No. 1 Central Methodist | L, 7-13 | Box Score
The next day, the Pirates were matched up with No. 1 Central Methodist, a team within the NAIA Top 10 and a 42-7 team on the season. Park and the Eagles did not matchup before the conference tournament on the year and Park was the first opponent of the tournament for the Eagles.

Five runs would come in during the top of the first inning for the Eagles on five hits. Guillermo Gelpi was on the mound for the Pirates and would last 2.1 innings pitched and fall to 6-3 on the season. Nine runs would pour in for the Eagles in the first three innings, but Sebastian Del Olmo would retire the only two batters he faced on two ground balls to get out of the third inning.

Torres and Morrow would each get RBI's in the bottom of the third to make it 9-2. Torres drove in Billy Rivera on a double to left center and then Morrow singled.

Dash Goldston came in to throw a scoreless fourth inning, which helped Park gain some ground in the bottom of the fourth with another two runs on a two RBI single from Rivera, 9-4.
The Eagles answered again in the top of the fifth with two runs on a fielder's choice, which turned in to an error to score the second run with the bases loaded.

Goldston threw another shutout inning in the sixth and the Pirates were in business again in the bottom of the sixth with three runs on two hits. First Rivera brought in a run on a sacrifice fly, then Torres roped a double for another run, and he would later score on a wild pitch.

Park was shutout in the remaining three innings though, as Central Methodist added two more runs in the seventh and eighth for a 13-7 win.

Park swung it with the Eagles though, as Central Methodist had 14 hits and Park had 13.

GAME 3 vs No. 8 William Penn | W, 6-5 (10 Innings) | Box Score
Raul Garcia got the start against No. 8 William Penn and would go three innings with three earned runs. William Penn had three hits in the second and third innings to get out to a 3-0 lead.

 The Statesmen threw six scoreless innings against the Pirates to begin the game, but Lozada was able to match that performance with three shutout innings of his own to keep the deficit where it was at.

A one-out throwing error and a walk got two Pirates on in the seventh, who were hit in on a Bradford triple. Rodriguez with two outs came through in a big way as well with the game-tying RBI single, 3-3.

A two-run home run for the Statesmen gave them a two-run lead again, but three doubles immediately followed from Morrow, Sanchez, and Penrod to tie the game at 5-5.

Perdieu pitched three solid innings with only two hits allowed. Both teams' pitching threw scoreless ninth innings to send this game to extra innings, where Park's Hernandez would have the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the 10^th.

Stilts would be called upon in a save situation and the 2024 Heart Second Team All-Conference pitcher came through to close out the game for the 6-5 win.

William Penn had 15 hits to Park's 13, but three errors plagued William Penn in the contest.

GAME 4 vs No. 2 MidAmerica Nazarene | W, 11-9 | Box Score
The Pirates had to face No. 2 MidAmerica Nazarene with both teams with their backs up against a wall in an elimination game. MidAmerica Nazarene is coming off two consecutive appearances in the NAIA National Championship final site series. This year Park had a walk-off win against MidAmerica Nazarene, but the Pioneers won the series, 3-1.

Aguirre came back strong in his second appearance of the tournament with three shutout innings to begin the game.

Park struck first with a solo home run from Sanchez in the top of the fourth, which was met with a pair of RBI singles in the bottom of the fourth for a 2-1 lead.

Aguirre would close out that inning and his day would be finished with four innings pitched on only four hits and only one earned run.

Three walks got the bases loaded with one out for the Pirates in the top of the fifth, at which point Torres cleared the bases with a double. It then was Sanchez' turn with an RBI single with two outs to make it 5-2.

Del Olmo came in to pitch and threw 2.2 innings with four earned runs, but he began his outing with scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth.

Another three walks and a single began the sixth inning for Park offensively and if not for Bradford caught stealing at the start of the inning, the Pioneers could have been in even more trouble than they already were. A fielding error with the bases loaded moved a run across and then a wild pitch scored a second run. Hernandez in the same plate appearance then blasted a double to the right center alley for two RBI's. Two more consecutive hits rolled in, including an RBI single from Sanchez and an RBI double from Penrod for the six-run, four-hit, two error inning.

With an 11-2 deficit, the Pioneers had major ground to make up, which they began to do in the seventh with four runs on five hits.

An 11-6 game in the bottom of the ninth again raised some concern with another three runs coming in to score to make it 11-9. Kyler Barnett would throw a scoreless eighth, but his teammate, and all-conference honorable mention pitcher, Guillermo Gelpi would come in to close out the game for the save and Del Olmo would receive his first win of the season. 

GAME 5 vs No. 1 Central Methodist | W, 10-9 | Box Score
Remarkably, Sanchez had one of the more special performances you will ever see at this level with a nine-for-10 day against MidAmerica Nazarene and Central Methodist at the plate and had late inning heroics that will be touched upon later on.

It was a big five-run inning for Central Methodist in the top of the first. John Brady would get an initial out, but a triple would score three runs, who reached on a hit by pitch and two walks. Another two runs came in with Michael Hoffman on the mound, one run being unearned. Hoffman was able to work two groundouts to get out of the inning, but the Eagles led 5-0.

It was a truly special comeback from Park in the bottom of the second inning with seven runs coming across to score on five hits and one error. A throwing error by Central Methodist helped get the first across for the Pirates and then three consecutive walks scored another two runs to make it 5-3. The Pirates would bat around in the inning, as Torres brought in another two RBI's on a single to right field. Then with two outs, Bradley Schram, who came in for an injured Hernandez on the hit by pitch to begin the inning, came through with a clutch double to overtake the Eagles, 7-5. Sanchez would single the next at-bat and trying to extend the lead, Schram was cut-off at the plate for the third out.

Hoffman did his job to keep the Eagles off the board in the second and third innings, which included a double-play turned by Rodriguez and Sanchez in the top of the third.

Stilts would throw the next four innings to relieve Hoffman, allowing just one earned run in three shutout innings with three strikeouts.

Sanchez continued to see the ball well in the sixth inning and drove in two more Pirates to extend the lead in the bottom of the sixth, 9-6.

Raul Garcia came in when the Eagles' offense jumpstarted itself with three runs on four hits to tie the game, 9-9. Lozada came in to finish the eighth and allowed a single and a got the third out on a groundout to first-base.

After a scoreless eighth for Park, Lozada struck out two Eagles and threw out the third batter for a one-two-three top of the ninth.

With one out and an automatic bid to the 2024 NAIA National Championship Opening Round on the line, Sanchez rocked a solo home run to walk-off on the Eagles. Even more special for the senior Pirate in his first season at Park was the opportunity on Saturday to participate in Park University's graduation ceremony as the first member of his family to graduate college. He missed the opportunity to play Central Methodist on the Saturday, but then came back to play William Penn that evening and put together some of the most impressive performances in recent memory for the Pirates in post-season play.

??, No. 4 @ParkPirates is headed to their first-ever Heart Baseball Conference Tournament Championship game with a 10-9 walk-off home run by Victor Sanchez-Ramos against No. 1 @cmueagles.

Sanchez-Ramos was 9-for-10 from the plate on the day!@NAIABall pic.twitter.com/6cueCO4z6C

— Heart Sports (@HeartSportsNews) May 7, 2024

 
GAME 6 vs No. 3 Mount Mercy | W, 13-11 | Box Score
Dash Goldston got the start in the 2024 Heart Championship game one against No. 3 Mount Mercy and he would put Park in a great position after going 4.1 innings pitched with only allowing three runs on three hits.

Four runs on five hits from Park was an impressive start, considering they played back-to-back nine-inning games the night prior. Mount Mercy had the advantage with an undefeated 3-0 record in bracket play, including wins against No. 2 MidAmerica Nazarene and No. 1 Central Methodist. Entering the championship games between Park and Mount Mercy, the Mustangs had two less games played than Park.  

Sanchez began the game with an RBI single, but then Schram had a huge three-run home run to put Park up 4-0 in the first.

Three runs came in for Mount Mercy in the second inning on three hits. Goldston would tighten up in the next two innings to preserve the 4-3 lead.

Yadiel Santana had a simple ground out to score a run in the fourth inning, which was followed up by another RBI single from Torres, 6-3.

 Hoffman relieved Goldston in the fifth inning and with the bases loaded, he got a pop up on the infield and a flyout to keep the teams separated by three runs.
A lot of offense was on display in the last three innings as both teams scored in the seventh through the ninth.

Dalton Short got the start at catcher for the first time this tournament and lifted the Pirates to an 8-3 lead off of a two-run home run.

A sacrifice fly by Mount Mercy the next half inning made it 8-4, but the Pirates scored another two runs on a Torres double and a walk by Short with the bases loaded. Mount Mercy elected not to pitch to Sanchez with runners at third and second.

With a 10-4 deficit, Mount Mercy nearly tied the game with a five-run eighth inning on five hits, but the senior Barnett was able to quell the Mustangs at 10-9.

Another senior Rodriguez gave more breathing room to Park with an RBI single to left field, but then a Santana double was a huge difference in the game, as two more runs scored for a 13-9 lead.

Perdieu came into the game in a non-save situation and Mount mercy nearly pulled off a comeback with four consecutive hits for two runs, but after Perdieu got his first out of the inning, he was able to find his rhythm with two strikeouts to end the game 13-11.

With the win, the Pirates set a new program record of 35 wins.

GAME 7 vs No. 3 Mount Mercy | L, 3-20 | Box Score

In the seventh game in six days, Park's pitching was tapped out and the Mustangs still had the advantage of less games played. The double elimination format benefited them in the end, as it forced Park to beat them a second time to win the Heart Conference Tournament Championship.

Morrow got on the mound the first time this season, but has plenty of mound experience to draw from and even made some starts on the hill in 2023. The Mustangs got off to a hot start with five runs in the top of the first.

With 23 hits in the game, Mount Mercy scored in all innings except a scoreless sixth inning tossed by Barnett.

Park managed 10 hits as a team and scored all three of their runs in the fifth inning on three hits, a Mustang error, and a walk. Morrow drew the walk with the bases loaded for the Pirates' first run and then Torres, like he had done the entire tournament, came through again with a two-RBI double.

Park made it an 11-3 game after the fifth inning, but the Mustangs scored three runs in each of the last three innings for the 20-3 win.   

As the 2024 Heart Conference Tournament Runner-Up, the Pirates have earned an automatic bid into the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament. The opening rounds commence on May 13-16 with the opening round matchups announced on Thursday, May 9 at 4pm (CT)  WATCH