Central College baseball team extends winning streak to five
Central College
DECORAH — With a doubleheader sweep of Iowa Conference foe Luther College 8-2 in 10 innings and 10-2 in seven innings, the Central College baseball team extended its winning streak to five games Tuesday.
The Dutch (10-11 overall, 2-3 conference) trailed the Norse (10-9 overall, 3-5 conference) 1-0 entering the seventh inning when senior second baseman Noah Stochl (New Hampton) hammered a home run to left field.
“Noah’s home run kind of opened the rest of the team’s eyes and saw that we could hit their pitcher,” said coach Matt Schirm.
After neither team scored through nine innings, Central exploded for seven runs in the 10th to take the lead. Senior third baseman Zach Brown (Cedar Rapids, Xavier HS) plated two runs with a single to center and the Dutch kept the momentum rolling into game two.
“Zach was really locked in today,” said Schirm. “He hit the ball hard all day and played great defense. This was definitely his best series so far this year.”
Like game one, Central found itself in a deficit, however the offense rallied to score 10 runs during the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to overtake Luther 10-2.
Freshman backstop Trevor Kimm (Urbandale) stole the show in game two after getting a hit in each of his four at-bats, including two doubles and drove in a pair of runs.
“It was awesome to see Trevor play the way he did today,” said Schirm. “He crushed the ball every time he was up. I’m really happy for him.”
Junior first baseman Ryan Garrett (Aledo, Ill., Mercer County HS) went 3-for-3 in the nightcap, scoring two runs and driving in a run.
Senior outfielder Seth Griffiths (Ottumwa) extended his hitting streak to 12 games with three hits in game one and an RBI-single in game two. Griffiths also stole his league leading 18th bag of the season.
Sophomore pitcher Billy Coppage (West Point, Fort Madison HS) earned the win in game one, allowing two hits over six innings and walking two.
“Billy is as steady as a guy as we have here,” said Schirm.
Freshman hurler Zach Edwards (Des Moines, Lincoln HS) received his second win on the season after throwing four innings, allowing two runs, surrendering eight hits and striking out a batter.
“Zach wasn’t quite as sharp as his previous outings but was able to limit the damage,” said Schirm.
The Dutch pitching was dominant throughout the twinbill, allowing four runs and 13 hits over 17 innings. Central rattled off 22 hits.
“Both games were kind of similar, where we struggled out of the gate and then came on offensively but we also pitched really well all day,” said Schirm.
Central continues its league play Friday when Coe College travels to Pella for a three-game series. A lone nine-inning game begins Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday’s doubleheader starts at 1 p.m. The teams split with each other last season.
