Martin hurls gem for Central baseball team victory
JACKSONVILLE, ILLINOIS — Starting the day with a brutal first two innings, the Central College baseball team finished with 16 strong innings to salvage a split at MacMurray College (Ill.) Saturday.
The Dutch (2-3) recovered from a 14-5 loss in the opener to win 9-0 in the finale.
In the second contest, Rece Martin (senior, Saylorville, Saydel HS) got the start on the mound and held MacMurray scoreless for six innings. He struck out seven while allowing three hits. Sophomore Landon Vander Leest (Pella) got the save with three shutout innings of relief.
“Rece was unbelievable,” coach Matt Schirm said. “He commanded his pitches well, they were all down in the zone. He kept batters off a balance. Once they started getting settled in with Rece’s low-80’s fastball, Landon came in with his high-80’s fastball and they had trouble catching up.
At the plate, catcher Trevor Kimm (senior, Urbandale) tied a school record with five hits in five at-bats. He had a single RBI in the second game thanks to a solo home run and added a double in the fourth inning. In the first game, Kimm drove in three runs with two more hits including a triple.
“He was locked in all day,” Schirm said. “We definitely needed him because we struggled through parts of the day offensively. He really guided us.”
Freshman Garrett Finley (DeWitt, Central DeWitt HS) got his first start at designated hitter and drove in four runs with three hits, including a 2 RBI double.
“He’s been chomping at the bit and took advantage of his opportunity,” Schirm said. “He’s got a very advanced approach at the plate. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
Third baseman Declan O’Hare (freshman, Los Angeles, Calif., John Marshall HS) and first baseman Ben Wallace (junior, Knoxville) each had a pair of hits in the victory.
In the first game, Nick Long (senior, Marshalltown, East Marshall HS) was the starting pitcher and allowed 10 runs and 10 hits while notching just four outs. Marcus Wenzel pitched six innings of relief and was charged with four runs.
“The first two innings we’re obviously not what we expected,” Schirm said. “It was kind of an avalanche of things going wrong and we didn’t help ourselves with some untimely errors. We played pretty well for the rest of the day.”
The Dutch will complete the three-game series against the Highlanders tomorrow at Noon.
