The Culver-Stockton baseball team failed to protect leads late and dropped both games of a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader to Grand View University Friday afternoon at Hy-vee Fields in Grimes, Iowa.

In the first game, the Wildcat fell behind 3-0 early, rallied to take a 4-3 lead with a run in the seventh inning only to watch as the Vikings plated two in the bottom of the seventh to claim a 5-4 victory.

In the nightcap, Grand View scored the first run of the game in the sixth inning and C-SC was able to force extra innings with a run in the seventh. After each team scored a run in the eighth, the Vikings got a walk, a stolen base and a two-base throwing error to score the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth to register a 3-2 decision.

The Vikings scored three times off C-SC starter Isaiah Naylor to start the first game. However, Naylor settled in and didn't allow another run until tiring in the seventh inning. Naylor scattered six hits, walked five and struck out two.

The Wildcats got within 3-2 in the third inning on a RBI single by Ethan Weber, who then scored later in the inning when Jeremiah Morris reached on an error.

C-SC tied the game in the fifth inning on a RBI single by Kannon Kirk, and then took a 4-3 lead in the seventh on a solo home run by Cooper Kiel before the Vikings rallied in the bottom of the inning to walk off with the victory.

The Wildcats garnered seven total hits with Kiel recording the only multiple hit game with two safeties.

The second game was a pitchers duel between C-SC's Carter Jones and Grand View's Alex Foster.

Jones pitched eight-plus innings, scattering six hits and allowing just three runs (one earned) on 101 pitches. He walked two and struck out four but unfortunately suffered the loss.

The game was scoreless until the sixth inning when the Vikings notched an unearned run to take a 1-0 lead.

C-SC tied the  game in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Kiel, and then took a 2-1 led in the eighth when Brandon Diaz Valentin scored when a ball hit by Copper Gillette was booted for an error.

However, the Vikings scratched a run across in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game, and then scored a run in the ninth without a hit as a leadoff walk led to a stolen base and a two-base throwing error for the game-winner.

The Wildcats and Vikings are scheduled to conclude their four-game series on Saturday, March 14, with another doubleheader. The games are slated to new played at Lou Yacinich Field on the Grand View campus in Des Moines, Iowa. First pitch at 1 p.m.