Mount Mercy sweeps four-game set from Peru State in Cedar Rapids

Mount Mercy completed a four-game sweep of Peru State in Cedar Rapids, closing the weekend with a 3-2 win and a 10-1 decision Saturday after taking both ends of Friday’s twinbill, 10-6 and 6-5. The most decisive stretch of the series came early, when Mount Mercy used a seven-run third inning in Friday’s opener to seize control and later added an eighth-inning run in the nightcap that stood as the game-winner.

Peru State showed early life in the first game Friday. Wrigley Strong’s sacrifice fly in the first inning gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead, but Mount Mercy answered with three runs in the second and broke the game open with seven more in the third for a 10-1 advantage. The Bobcats did not fold. Kutty George delivered the biggest Peru State swing of the opener with a bases-clearing double in a four-run fourth, trimming the deficit to 10-5, and Peru State added another run in the fifth. George finished with three RBIs, while Strong drove in a run and Jonathan Gutierrez scored once. Peru State collected five hits and left 10 runners on base in the loss.

The second game Friday was the tightest contest of the set. Peru State took a 2-1 lead in the second when Sam Dunn singled and a throwing error allowed two runs to score. Mount Mercy responded with a three-run fourth, including a Lane Spieker homer to center, then added another run in the fifth. The Bobcats again rallied late. Jonathan Gutierrez lined a two-run single up the middle in the sixth to pull Peru State within 5-4, and the margin stayed there until Mount Mercy pushed across the deciding run in the eighth on Nick Meyer’s RBI double. Dunn paced Peru State by going 3 for 4 with two RBIs, and Gutierrez added two more RBIs. On the mound for Mount Mercy, Casey Ogden struck out 11 in five innings before Jake Weissenberger recorded the save.

Saturday’s opener followed a similar pattern, with Peru State staying within striking distance throughout. Mount Mercy scored in the first and third innings, but the Bobcats answered in the fourth to tie the game at 2-2. Jomar Perez brought home one run with a sacrifice fly, and Tyson Fancher added an RBI single in the inning. Mount Mercy regained the lead in the fifth on Chase Gerwig’s run-scoring single, and that proved to be the difference in a 3-2 final. Dylan Pavletich gave Peru State a steady outing on the mound, working six innings and allowing three runs, while the Bobcats matched Mount Mercy with five hits.

The finale remained manageable into the middle innings before Mount Mercy’s lineup broke through. Peru State trailed 4-0 before getting on the board in the sixth, when Xavier Solla’s groundout plated Jonathan Gutierrez. Mount Mercy then answered with a six-run sixth to turn a close game into a 10-1 final. Gutierrez and Solla each drove in a run for the Bobcats, who finished with four hits. Adam Korte worked four innings for Peru State, and the Bobcats held the game within reach until the late surge.

Across the four games, Peru State’s offense received repeated production from Gutierrez, Dunn, George, Strong and Fancher, and the Bobcats remained competitive in three of the four contests despite the series sweep. Peru State was scheduled to continue the road trip Saturday against Mount Mercy University in another doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. The series then continues Sunday in Cedar Rapids with another twinbill against Mount Mercy.