Central baseball team mounts offensive rally for split
FULTON, MO. — Notching just two hits in a 5-0 loss in the opener, the Central College baseball team found seven runs on 12 hits for a 7-5 victory in game two Sunday against Wartburg College.
In addition to 12 hits, Central (4-6, 2-4 American Rivers Conference) took advantage of three Knight errors, three walks and a pair of hit batters to earn the win over Wartburg (4-8, 2-4 conference).
“We had the on advantage on free bases in the second game,” coach Matt Schirm said. “We took advantage of some of those mistakes. In the first game, they didn’t really give us anything and we struggled against a good pitcher.”
Four Central players had multiple hits in the victory, led by catcher Trevor Kimm’s (senior, Urbandale) 3-for-5 day. Tanner Bigelow (freshman, Gilbert, Ariz., Highland HS) got his first shot as the designated hitter Sunday and drove in a run to go along with his two hits.
“Tanner had a good week of practice so we gave him a shot today,” Schirm said. “He did some good things for us today and gave us some nice production from the DH spot.”
Ryan Riddle (senior, Omaha, Neb., Mount Michael HS) got the victory on the mound, striking out seven in 6.1 innings as the starter. Nathan Schwanke (senior, Omaha, Neb., Concordia HS) recorded strikeouts for all three of his outs before Landon Thiele (sophomore, Moline, Ill.) secured a five-out save.
“Ryan went deep into the game which is exactly what we needed him to do,” Schirm said. “Schwanke came in and got some big outs for us. Landon is a good ground ball pitcher and ultimately, we ended the game on a double play. He did his job.”
Center fielder Tyler Sass (Lincoln, Neb., Southwest HS) had a pair of hits, including a 2-RBI single in the second inning. Third baseman Quinn Miller (junior, Cedar Rapids, Xavier HS) had two hits in game two and recorded a single in game one.
“It was good to see our guys bounce back offensively after a few tough games,” Schirm said.
In the first game, Marcus Wenzel (senior, Chicago, Ill., Luther North College Prep) suffered the loss even with five strikeouts in 5.2 innings. He scattered six hits and four earned runs.
The two teams return to the field Monday afternoon for another 1 p.m. doubleheader.
