Metro Sports Report

Mustangs eye spot at nationals

OZARK, Mo. - Believe it or not, the Mount Mercy baseball team is one  victory away from reaching the NAIA national tournament.

The Mustangs scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday  to clip 17th-ranked Central Methodist University, 2-1, in an  elimination game at the Heart of America Conference tournament at US  Baseball Park.

Mount Mercy (29-22) will face Clarke University (27-20) in the losers  bracket finals Monday at 10 a.m., with the winner advancing to the  conference finals against Baker at 1:30 p.m. Monday and clinching a  spot in the national tournament.

The Heart of America Conference gets two spots in the national  tournament this year, and the two berths go to the conference  tournament champion and the tournament runnerup.

Mount Mercy has won three straight elimination games at the tournament  and Sunday's game was a doozy. The Mustangs trailed, 1-0, heading into  the bottom of the ninth and scored two runs without a base hit.

KCC golfers lead regional meet

AMES - The Kirkwood men's golf team has a six-shot lead at the NJCAA  regional tournament heading into the final round Monday at the Veenker  Memorial Golf Course.

The Eagles finished the first round Sunday at 16-over-par 304, with  DMACC in second place at 310.

James Morgan of Kirkwood is tied for first place in the individual  standings at 1-under 71. All five Kirkwood golfers are in the top-11  on the scoreboard. Ben Epperly is tied for fifth at 3-over 75.

Eagles get No. 5 seed for regional

WEST BURLINGTON - The Kirkwood baseball team traded a pair of one-run  victories with 16th-ranked Southeastern Community College Saturday and  earned the No. 5 seed for the regional tournament.

Kirkwood (31-18) will face Northeast Community College (27-17) in the  first round of the NJCAA Division II regional tournament this Thursday  at noon at Ashford Field in Clinton.

Kirkwood trimmed Southeastern, 5-4, in 11 innings in the first game  Saturday. Southeastern took the nightcap, 8-7, in walk-off fashion in  the bottom of the seventh.

Kirkwood finished the ICCAC campaign with a 15-13 record.

Caleb Fuller (3-0) pitched three scoreless innings in relief to finish  the 5-4 victory in Game 1 and earn the victory. Levi Usher and Kal  Youngquist were 2-for-5 and scored twice to lead the offense.

No. 8 Eagles seeking to host regional

ESTHERVILLE - The Kirkwood Eagles swept Iowa Lakes, 8-0 and 9-0, on a  pair of two-hit shutouts Saturday in an ICCAC conference doubleheader.

Both games ended after five innings due to the mercy rule.

The eighth-ranked Eagles have a showdown with 17th-ranked NIACC in  Mason City Sunday as both teams battle to host an NCJAA Division II  regional that will be held May 10-12.

Kirkwood (21-5) has a one-game lead over NIACC (20-6) heading into the  final two games of the regular season on Sunday. The Eagles need a  split to host the regional, but NIACC would host the regional if the  Trojans sweep the twinbill from Kirkwood.

Erin Hocker (22-7, 1.84 ERA) and Bradee Bouman (18-6, 3.07) tossed the  two-hit shutouts against Iowa Lakes. Hocker struck out seven batters  and walked one. Bouman had one strikeout and one walk.

Kirkwood shortstop Rachel Stewart went 4-for-6 in the doubleheader  with four runs and five RBIs, along with a triple, her fifth home run  and two stolen bases.