Central College baseball team routs Iowa Wesleyan

Central College

PELLA — A hit-party broke out Tuesday afternoon for the Central College baseball team in a 16-6 rout over Iowa Wesleyan.

Central (6-11) tallied a season-high 20 hits and each starter accounted for at least one hit in the win. The Tigers (8-11) collected nine hits.

Senior outfielder Seth Griffiths (Ottumwa) extended his hitting streak to nine games after going 5-for-6 with two doubles, scored two runs and drove in one.

“The biggest difference with Seth since the beginning of the season is his approach at the plate,” said coach Matt Schirm.

Freshman outfielder Tanner Wood (Pella) went 3-for-5 with a double, scored three runs and one RBI, sophomore designated hitter Chris Riddle (Omaha, Neb., Mount Michael HS) had three hits in at-bats, drove in two runs and scored a pair of runs.

“We had a ton of quality at-bats today and hopefully we can keep that going this weekend,” said Schirm.

Sophomore shortstop Garrett Saunders (Bonaparte, Van Buren HS) extended his 17-game on-base streak after an RBI double in the first inning.

“Garrett is a talented hitter and puts together great at-bats,” said Schirm.

Freshman backstop Trevor Kimm (Urbandale) started for an injured Michael Reuter (Monticello) and ripped a 3-run double in his first plate appearance; the double was Kimm’s first career hit.

“I’m so happy to have Trevor on the team,” said Schirm. “He’s one of our hardest workers and he does a great job defensively as well.”

Freshman pitcher Rece Martin (Des Moines, Saydel HS) earned the win after throwing 3.1 innings of relief, giving up five hits, surrendering two runs and striking out five Tigers batters.

Freshman hurler Robert Stanton (Des Moines, Roosevelt HS) started the game throwing three innings, giving up four runs and striking out three.

Central returns to the diamond Saturday for a doubleheader in a non-conference showdown with North Central University (Minn.) at 1 p.m.