MISHAWAKA, Indiana - The Marian College baseball team traveled to Bethel College on Thursday afternoon and came home with a split. The Knights dropped game one, 10-6, but battered the ball around the park in game two in a 15-8 win.

 

The Knights remain at .500 with an 18-18 overall record and are 7-7 in Mid-Central College Conference play.

 

In game one, the Knights jumped out to a 4-1 lead after three innings as they posted two in the top of the first, one in the second, and one in the third. However, Bethel had a seven-run fourth to take an 8-4 lead. The Pilots followed that up with two in the fifth after the Knights got one back to make the score, 10-5. The Knights scored one more in the seventh, but fell 10-6.

 

Senior Kyle Cox (Indianapolis/Butler) went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple while junior Mike Keltz (Avon, Indiana/Avon) went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Sophomore Todd Ungru (Madison, Indiana/Shawe Memorial) went 1-for-4 with two RBI and his first career home run. Freshman Neil Hackett (LaPorte, Indiana/LaPorte) dropped to 3-3 on the season on the hill.

 

Game two went the other direction as the Knights opened a 3-1 lead after two innings. Bethel responded with five in the third to take a 6-3 lead, but the Knights immediately answered with five of their own to take an 8-7 lead after four innings.

 

A scoreless fifth was followed by a two-run sixth for the Knights to take a 10-7 lead, but Bethel got one back in the bottom half to cut the lead to 10-8. The Knights finished the game with a five-run seventh inning to pick up the 15-8 victory.

 

Freshman Jared Mills (Cicero, Indiana/Hamilton Heights) led the way after he finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Mills and junior Tony Goodpaster (Avon, Indiana/Wabash) hit back-to-back home runs for the Knights.

Cox had a hit and four RBI while Keltz finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

 

Sophomore Jake Mullis (Coatesville, Indiana/North Putnam) struggled to find the strike zone in two innings of work, but Ungru was able to pick up the win with five innings of six-hit ball. He allowed just one earned run to improve to 3-1 on the season.

 

The Knights come back to the friendly confines on Saturday when they complete the four-game set with Bethel College. The MCC twinbill is scheduled for 1 p.m., with the game airing LIVE at www.marian.edu/athletics.