MONMOUTH, Ill. - For the first time since 2003, there is a new career home run leader in the Midwest Conference and his name is
Brett Kiger (Beloit, Wis.). Kiger crushed two home runs in game two of the Beloit College Baseball double header against Monmouth college to break the previous record of 42. The Buccaneers (21-13, 14-9, MWC) defeated the Fighting Scots (15-17, 8-11 MWC) in both games, 14-3 and 11-0.
Matt O'Leary (Clarendon Hills, Ill.) kicked off game one with a solo home run to give Beloit a quick 1-0 lead and set the tone for the day. Monmouth tied the game in the bottom of the second with a double and back to back singles. The Bucs exploded for a seven run second inning.
Connor Vogel (Palmdale, Calif.) led off the inning by reaching on an error by the right fielder and advancing to second. He moved over to third on a single to left from
Seth Brankey (Salem, Wis.).
Blake Nelson (Monument, CO.) loaded the bases with a walk but an error by the MC catcher allowed Vogel to score and Brankey to move over to third. The bases were full of Bucs for the second time after
Nolan Tomsyck (Muskego, Wis) was hit by a pitch. Back to back doubles to right field from
Jack Alport (Arlington Heights, Ill.) and
Miles Souza (Carpinteria, Calif.) drove in four more runs. With just Souza on, O'Leary launched his second home run in as many innings, making it an 8-1 game.
Neither team was able to plate a run in the third and Kiger collected his first RBI of the day in the top of the fourth when he doubled down the third base line to score Alport. The third Beloit long ball of the game, this time by Tomsyck pushed the lead to 11-1 in the top of the fifth. The Fighting Scots responded with a shot of their own in the bottom of that inning to get two runs back.
In the top of the seventh,
Evan Zenger (Burr Ridge, Ill.) joined the home run party by hitting a two run shot of his own. Later in the inning, Tomsyck became the second Buccaneer of the game to hit his second homer with a solo shot that made it a 14-3 game. The Bucs defeated the Fighting Scots in seven innings in game one.
Aiden Phipps (Simi Valley, Calif.) earned his seventh win of the season, throwing six innings, striking out four while walking just two.
Tommy Murray (Rockton, Ill.) and
Kaiya Nishino (Seattle, Wash.) combined for the final inning.
Looking to continue their offensive dominance in game two, the Buccaneers added another three home runs to their daily total. After O'Leary reached on an error, Kiger homered to center field to give Beloit a 2-0 lead. Marking his 15th of the season, and 43rd of his career, he became the MWC career leader and tied his season high, set last year. The Bucs added another two runs in the top of the second. Brankey was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He eventually stole second, and moved to third on an error by the MC catcher. Souza walked to put runners on the corners. O'Leary reached on the second error of the inning, this time a throwing error by the short stop, allowing Brankey to score. A wild pitch allowed O'Leary to move to second, and Souza to score. After two, Beloit led 4-0.
The Bucs didn't score again until the top of the sixth. Alport and Souza hit back to back doubles with Alport scoring on Souza's hit. O'Leary singled in Souza before him, Kiger and Tomsyck were stranded on base. In the top of the seventh, Zenger launched his second bomb of the day to make it a 7-0 game in favor of the Bucs. Kiger hit home run number 16 on the season in the top of the eighth. WIth Souza and O'Leary aboard, his rocket to center made it a 10-0 game. After two quick ground outs, Zenger restarted the rally with a single to left and came around to score when Brankey doubled to right. The Bucs took game two 11-0.
Ben Schweit (Simi Valley, CA.) pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out three and walking three before making way for Nishino and Murray to finish the final inning of work.
