Raiders stay hot, sweep Moberly

The month of April has been anything but cruel to the Three Rivers College baseball team so far.

The Raiders took a doubleheader from the Moberly Greyhounds Tuesday afternoon, winning the opener 5-4 before taking the nightcap 4-0. The two wins are the Raiders’ seventh in eight games this month.

Three Rivers (22-17) got strong pitching in both contests Tuesday, including a combined one-hitter from Daniel Munroe and Carson Webb in the nightcap.

The Raiders got on the board in the bottom of the first inning of that contest when Logan McIntyre reached on an error with two out, then scored when Eli Marvin triple him home.

TRC added a trio of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Dalton Rudd lead of the inning with a double, then scored on Charlie Parker’s base hit for a 2-0 lead. Two batters later, Peyton Nelson hit a two-run homer that also scored Parker and capped the rally.

Nelson had three hits in the game and also stole a pair of bases. As a team, Three Rivers stole five bases in the contest.

In Tuesday’s opener, the Raiders got on the board first, when Tanner Duncan singled home Brady Robertson in the bottom of the first inning for a 1-0 lead.

After Moberly tied the score in the top of the second inning, Gavin Jansen singled home Rudd for a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the inning, then Parker scored on a double-play ball later in the inning to make it 3-1.

The Greyhounds scored in the top of the fifth inning to make it 3-2, but TRC added a pair of crucial insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Jansen scored on Robertson’s sacrifice fly ball to center to make it 4-2, then Nelson made it 5-2 when Eli Marvin reached on an error.

Those insurance runs loomed big in the top of the seventh inning, when Moberly scored twice to get within one run. However, Jansen threw out potential tying run Alex Alton, who was trying to stretch a single into a double, for the innings first out — then Jorden Eaton retired the next two batters to earn the save.

Duncan led the offense with two hits. Brayden Eftink started and got the win, allowing two runs in 4 2/3 innings before handing it off to the bullpen.

Three Rivers is back in action Thursday when the Raiders head to Mineral Area for a Region 16 doubleheader. First pitch is set for noon.