Buena Vista rally shocks Central in baseball loss
PELLA — After surging to a 17-5 lead through four innings, the Central College baseball team’s lead slipped away for a 22-18 loss in the opening game of a doubleheader against Buena Vista University Saturday.
The Dutch (9-4, 0-3 American Rivers Conference) lost 12-0 in the nightcap against the Beavers (11-6, 3-0 conference). Central was outscored 34-18 and was outhit 37-16.
“There’s so many things offensively and on the mound that we’re not executing,” coach Casey Klunder said. “We have to coach better and execute better in those situations.”
Declan O’Hare (junior, Los Angeles, Calif., Marshall HS) tied a school record with six RBI in the first game. He blasted a grand slam in his first at-bat and added a two-RBI single in the second inning. O’Hare was also the starting pitcher in the first game, scattering four hits and five runs over five innings of work. Kurby Vowels (junior, Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) took the loss in relief.
“I enjoy watching Declan play,” Klunder said. “He’s such a competitor. He settled in after a bit of a rocky start. He’s probably been our most consistent pitcher. He also provided some offense for himself and the team and has been a really complete player.”
Right fielder Kyler Watson (freshman, Ballard) was 4-for-5 with two doubles and first baseman Garrett Finley (junior, DeWitt, Central DeWitt HS) had two hits and four RBI in the first game. Finley and Tanner Bigelow (sophomore, Gilbert, Ariz., Highland HS) each had home runs, giving Central three for the game.
Marcus Wenzel (senior, Chicago, Ill., Luther North College Prep) was saddled with the loss in game two after giving up seven runs in six innings.
Central is dealing with a rash of injuries, especially in the outfield. Left fielder Ian Boline (senior, Alburnett) missed the whole weekend, right fielder Colton DeRocher (sophomore, Sioux City, East HS) missed today’s doubleheader after being hit by a pitch Friday and center fielder Logan McCoy (sophomore, Galva, Alta-Aurelia HS) was removed from the second game today after running into an outfield fence. Third baseman Quinn Miller (senior, Cedar Rapids, Xavier HS) also was removed from the second game for injury reasons.
“Hopefully, they’ll be able to go on Tuesday,” Klunder said. “We were really banged up at the end so hopefully we can get everybody patched up.”
Central hosts Loras College on Tuesday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. After an 11-1 loss against Luther College Friday, Loras is 16-1. They are currently No. 15 in Division III according to the D3Baseball.com poll.
