Carson delivers three-run walk-off homer in Central sweep
Central College
PELLA—Down by two runs with two outs in the seventh, the Central College baseball team came alive in its final out as right fielder Allen Mann (junior, Marshalltown) delivered a game-tying two-run single and first baseman Seth Carson (sophomore, Woodridge, Ill., Downers Grove South HS) belted a three-run walk-off homer to top Iowa Conference rival Wartburg College 9-6 and sweep the league-opening doubleheader Saturday.
The Dutch (11-3, 2-0 conference) rattled off 17 hits, erupting for nine runs in the second inning, for a 13-3 comeback victory in the nightcap.
Tied 4-4 after the third inning of the opener, Wartburg struck the go-ahead run in the fifth and added a tally in the seventh for a 6-4 lead. Center fielder Sam Stetzel (junior, Perry) reached on a hit by pitch before getting out on a fielder’s choice from shortstop Mike Furlong (senior, Davenport, Assumption HS). Second baseman Adam Ariola (sophomore, Bloomington, Ill., Normal HS) was also hit by a pitch and after a strikeout, the runners advanced to second and third on a balk.
Then Mann punched a single up the middle, driving in Ariola and Furlong to tie the score 6-6. Freshman pinch hitter Tom Weissbeck (Rockford, Ill., Rockford Lutheran HS) walked and Carson blasted the dramatic game-winning hit over the left-field fence.
“We always talk about competing to the last pitch of the game,” coach Adam Stevens said. “That’s what we did today. We were down to our last strike and Allen found a way to get a hit up the middle and Seth had a huge hit to end the game.”
Joel Pulliam (senior, Des Moines, Lincoln HS) had the start on the mound and worked 6.2 innings, but Judson McKown (sophomore, Maple Plain, Minn., Orono HS) picked up the win. Pulliam yielded 11 hits and six earned runs and had two strikeouts.
In the nightcap, Wartburg jumped to a 3-0 lead, scoring twice in the first inning and once in the second. But Central broke the game open in the bottom of the second, rapping out nine hits, all singles, for nine earned runs. Central added a run in the third and fourth frames and two runs in the fifth while holding Wartburg scoreless.
“We didn’t start very well but we found a way to have a great offensive inning,” Stevens said. “What we like better is that we found ways to score in the next innings. We kept playing the game no matter what the score was.”
Junior hurler Dirk Lindaman (Ankeny) tossed the win, allowing three earned runs and nine hits in six innings. He walked two batters and struck out one. Mike Werkheiser (senior, Stockton, Ill.) tossed the seventh and had one strikeout.
Left fielder Michael Jontz (junior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) led the offense for the day, going 6-for-8. He scored four times and drove in one run.
“He’s done a great job getting on base in the leadoff position, which is what we want him to do,” Stevens said.
Stetzel had four hits and drove in three runs. Third baseman Jordan Judkins (sophomore, Marshalltown), catcher Josh Stanton (senior, Homer Glen, Ill., Lockport Township HS) and Ariola also finished with three hits. Defensively, the Dutch committed two errors, both in game two.
Central wraps up the three-game series with Wartburg (7-9, 0-2 conference) in a nine-inning matchup Sunday at 1 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field.
“Today was a good day but we play 24 conference games and we have 22 left,” Stevens said. “They’re all just as important so hopefully we can come out and play well tomorrow.”
A video webcast and live stats will be available through the Central athletics website at www.central.edu/athletics.
