Central upends St. Thomas for baseball split

Central College

Central College

PELLA—Breaking out of a slump in a big way, the Central College baseball team shocked No. 10 St. Thomas (Minn.) 4-3 Monday in game two of a doubleheader winning following an 8-5 loss in the opener.

Frankie Mauro (freshman, Des Moines, Iowa, Dowling Catholic HS) picked up his first collegiate pitching victory for the Dutch (8-24) in scintillating fashion. Going the full 7.0 innings, Mauro struck out four Tommies (22-6) and scattered 10 hits while walking two.

“He was impressive today,” Schirm said. “We’ve always known that he’s had that ability and he’s really starting to put it together. Limiting them to two walks was a big part of the win. It was a really good performance.”

The win was the first for Central since beating Buena Vista on April 15, breaking a nine-game losing skid.

“It leaves us with a good taste in our mouth,” Schirm said. “It was definitely a big win for us.”

Down 2-1, freshman first baseman Ryan Bouwman (Bloomington, Ill., Normal Community HS) sparked a rally with a leadoff triple in the bottom of the fifth. Singles by catcher Michael Reuter (junior, Monticello) and designated hitter Kyle Crampton (sophomore, Omaha, Neb., Millard South HS) followed as part of the 3-run inning.

“It was big inning,” Schirm said. “We were able to finally string some hits together and score some runs.”

Right fielder Kolby Reed (freshman, Muscatine) was 2-for-3 in the opener, including an RBI single in the fourth inning.

“It was good to see him play well,” Schirm said. “He just recently started working his way into the lineup and for the most part has taken advantage of the opportunity.”

Spnencer Gritsch (senior, Brooklyn, Iowa, BGM HS) made a surprise appearance on the mound for the Dutch, striking out three in 2.0 innings in the first game. It was the senior’s first time pitching in college.

“He was a really good pitcher at high school,” Schirm said. “I asked him if he was willing to give it a shot and he was open to trying it out. Since it was a non-conference game, I figured today was good opportunity. He was impressive, we’ll definitely think about using him in the future.”

Central will take to the road for four games at the University of Dubuque on Friday and Saturday. The Dutch will try to use the momentum from Monday’s win against the Spartans

“If we play against Dubuque like we did in the second game today, we’ll have a good shot to win the series,” Schirm said.

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