Spring break ends on a sour note for Central baseball team
Central College
TUCSON, ARIZ. — The Central College baseball team saw another early lead evaporate away Saturday, losing the final game of its spring break trip 10-9 against Concordia (Wis.) in 11 innings.
The Dutch (4-6) sprinted out to a 6-1 lead after three innings, courtesy of a four-run third inning. Zach Brown’s (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Xavier HS) two-RBI single plated Kirby Coppess (senior, Urbandale) and Zach Zylstra (senior, Pella, Iowa, Pella Christian HS). Brown would later score on an RBI groundout by Michael Reuter (sophomore, Monticello).
Hitting wasn’t the problem for the Dutch Saturday, they had 13 hits in the game, highlighted by 3-for-5 performances from Reuter and Mason Ellis (freshman, Fairfield). However, eight runners were left on base during the game, including the potential game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th.
“We left a lot of runs out there offensively,” coach Matt Schirm said. “I think we should have scored a lot more runs than we did.”
Dakotah Wolken (junior, Dillon, Iowa, East Marshall HS) started on the mound Saturday, going seven innings and giving up six runs on nine hits with six strikeouts. Austin Meyer (junior, Bondurant, Iowa, Bondurant-Farrar HS) and Matt Schissel (junior, Milan, Ill., Rock Island Alleman HS) finished out the game with Schissel taking the loss.
Central returns home having gone 2-6 during its annual Spring Break trip. Three of the Dutch losses were by less than two runs in games they had led early.
“(Today) wasn’t a good way to end the trip,” Schirm said. “The trip didn’t go as we hoped, but we‘ve still got 30 games in front of us, including the Iowa Conference season. We have a lot of time to improve and all of our goals are still in front of us.”
Central heads to Grinnell for a single nine-inning game against the Pioneers Wednesday at 2 p.m.
College baseball
at Tucson, Ariz.
Game 1
Concordia 001 001 411 11—10 16 3
Central 204 110 000 10—9 13 2
Sharon, Dubek, Gross, Heideman and Hillard; Wolken, Meyer, Schissel and Reuter/Frideres. W—Heideman (2-1); L—Schissel (0-1). Central 4-6, Concordia 4-6
