Dutch drop baseball doubleheader
Central Dutch Athletics
DUBUQUE — The beginning of Iowa Conference play was not kind to the Central College baseball squad as it fell 7-1 and 1-0 to the University of Dubuque Friday.
Central (9-7, 0-2 conference play) entered the doubleheader with the nation’s fourth highest batting average but the Dutch bats were quieted to just four hits in the two losses.
“We didn’t put together enough quality at-bats today to win,” said coach Matt Schirm. “Our pitching threw well enough to win today but we weren’t able to support them offensively.”
Dubuque improved to 5-7 overall and 2-0 in league play.
Sophomore starter Nick Long (Marshalltown, East Marshall HS) rebounded from his previous start, an 11-0 loss to Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) in which he was responsible for surrendering 8-of-the-11 runs, throwing eight innings, scattering eight hits, surrendering one run while striking out three.
“Nick was outstanding today,” said Schirm. “He was in the zone all day and really pitched well. Normally, when you allow one run you’re going to win a lot of your starts.”
Junior center fielder Coy Moore (Hamilton, Twin Cedars HS) started game one with a one-out triple down the left field line and later scored on an RBI groundout from junior first baseman Ryan Bouwman (Bloomington, Ill., Normal HS). Senior Kyle Crampton (Omaha, Neb., Millard South HS) reached on a single to center field in the eighth.
Sophomore third baseman Kaiden Fiebelkorn (Brooklyn, BGM HS) roped a double down the right field line in the third inning and junior second baseman Chris Riddle (Omaha, Neb., Mount Michael HS) singled in the sixth inning of game two.
“The stats may not have shown it but I thought Chris Riddle had a nice day at the plate,” said Schirm. “He hit the ball hard several times and bounced back after scuffling a bit towards the end of our spring break trip.”
The final game of the three-game series is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday in Dubuque. With a winter storm possibly hitting Dubuque Saturday, the location of the game could change. Schedule updates will be provided on the Central athletics social media accounts and at https://athletics.central.edu/
