March 7, 2026

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Mount Mercy (Iowa) used a late rally to erase a two-run deficit and walked off Dakota State (S.D.) with an 8–7 eight-inning victory Saturday at Plaster Athletic Complex. The Mustangs scored twice in the seventh inning to tie the game and plated the winning run in the eighth to complete the comeback.

Dakota State hit three home runs in the contest, but Mount Mercy's 16-hit offensive output proved decisive as the Mustangs erased a late deficit and secured the walk-off win.

Dakota State fell to 4-10 overall record, while Mount Mercy improved to 7-7 overall record.  The second game of the doubleheader was not played on Saturday due to cold weather and will become a tripleheader on Sunday.

How it happened

Dakota State jumped out quickly in the opening inning. Connor Raney reached base and later scored when Camaron Haller drove a double to right-center. Two batters later, Cameron DeMaria blasted a two-run home run to left field to give the Trojans an early 3–0 lead. 

It was DeMaria's 19^th career home run, tying for fourth most all-time home runs with Ian Barker (2014-16).
Mount Mercy began chipping away in the second inning when Nick Meyer delivered an RBI single. The Mustangs cut the deficit to one in the third after Sam Wiese tripled to right field to score Kade Knock, making the score 3–2.

Dakota State extended its lead in the fourth inning when Haller launched a solo home run to center field, pushing the Trojans ahead 4–2. Mount Mercy answered again in the bottom half with RBI hits from Chase Gerwig and Knock to tie the contest at 4–4.

The Mustangs took their first lead in the fifth inning when DJ Harris drove in a run on a fielder's choice, putting Mount Mercy ahead 5–4.

Dakota State regained momentum in the seventh inning. After a sacrifice RBI by Cameron Kittridge tied the game, Aiden Barfuss crushed a two-run homer to right field to give the Trojans a 7–5 advantage.

Mount Mercy responded immediately in the bottom half of the seventh inning. Harris doubled to right field to score two runs and tie the game at 7–7.

The Mustangs completed the comeback in the eighth inning when Lane Spieker tripled and scored on an RBI single by Drew Terpins, sealing the 8–7 victory.
  Game Statistics

Dakota State

• Camaron Haller: 3-for-5, double, HR, 2 RBI
• Cameron DeMaria: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI
• Aiden Barfuss: 1-for-2, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• Connor Raney: 1-for-5, run
• Hunter Den Boer: 1-for-4
• Cameron Kittridge: RBI

Mount Mercy

• Lane Spieker: 3-for-4, 4 runs, double, triple, walk
• Nick Meyer: 4-for-4, RBI, double
• DJ Harris: 3-for-4, double, 3 RBI
• Derek Einertson: 3-for-5
• Sam Wiese: triple, RBI
• Drew Terpins: RBI

Pitching Statistics

Dakota State

• Hayden Leighty: 4.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO
• Kellan Johns: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R
• Austin Armstrong (L, 0-2): 1.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO

Mount Mercy

• Alex Neal: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 SO
• Luke Kehrli: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 SO
• Cole Bormann: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R
• Jake Weissenberger (W, 1-0): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R

Up Next

Dakota State will complete their four-game series with Mount Mercy Sunday, playing a tripleheader (all seven innings).  The first game is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.