Central drops a pair to end Florida baseball trip
AUBURNDALE, FLA. – The Central College baseball team ran into a strong pitching staff from Beloit College Friday in Florida and were swept 11-2 and 7-2.
The Dutch (4-9) offense was limited to four runs and 12 hits over 14 innings against the Bucs (7-3)
“Beloit threw some good arms out there,” coach Adam Carey said. “They were crafty and did a good job of getting ahead of us and suffocating us throughout the day.”
Beloit’s offense strung together a few big innings, totaling 18 runs on 24 hits, but it was their two-strike hitting that impressed Carey.
“Today was a learning experience for a lot of our guys,” he said. “Beloit is a good program and does a lot of things right. It was tough to get them out when we got to two strikes. Our pitching staff learned a lot today about beating competitive bats.”
Entering as a pinch hitter in the fourth inning, freshman third baseman Garrett Guenther (Grayslake, Ill., Central HS) led the Dutch offense in game two with a solo home run, a double and a stolen base.
“It’s good to see Garrett come back today and step up,” Carey said. “He swung it great and it was cool to see him get his first collegiate home run.”
Making his first appearances in Florida, shortstop Dylan Williams (sophomore, Bountiful, Utah, Woods Cross HS) was 2-for-3 with a double in game two. He also had a double in the opener.
“He came in and did a good job off the bench,” Carey said. “It was good to see him to stick his approach and what we expect our guys to do.”
Game one’s starting pitcher Declan O’Hare (fifth year, Los Angeles, Calif., John Marshall HS) was also the only Dutch batter with multiple hits. He also had an RBI sacrifice fly. As a pitcher, he yielded six earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. in 4.0 innings.
Mark Kenney (sophomore, Fennimore, Wis.) took the loss on the mound in game two, going 4.2 innings as the starter. He struck out five, but walked one and gave up five hits for five earned runs.
Central makes its home debut next Saturday with a doubleheader against Hamline University (Minn.) at 1 p.m.
“There’s a lot of conversations we can have and film we can watch from this week to learn from,” Carey said. “Everybody is drained from a physical energy standpoint after playing seven games in six days. We’ll get back to work to get ready for Hamline next week.”
