When the call came, Mitch Benson was ready for action. Pressed into service in center field due to an injury to Dan Moro, the sophomore came oput of the gate swinging, rapping out 10 hits in his first 16 plate appearances. in all, he had hits in seven of the nine games he played in Arizona and helped the Piper baseball prep for the 2016 MIAC season with an overall record of 8-6 in games played in Tucson, Arizona.
The Cedar, Minn. native started modestly with a with a doiuble and three RBI in his first game March 18 against Carthage. He was 1-for-5 in his second game but then he busted loose with four hits and four RBi in a doubleheader against Williams. That was a warmup for a 5-for-5 effort that included three doubles and four RBI in a win over Buena Vista.
When all was said and done, Mitch had a .400 batting average (14-for-35) with 14 RBI. Perhaps even more impressively: he struck out just once in 39 plate appearances.
HU now turns its attention to MIAC play. The conference opening doubleheader is Saturday, April 2 at St. John's.
