Central rocks Luther with 7-run 7th in baseball
Central College
DECORAH–Central College pounded out 17 hits and erupted for seven runs in the seventh inning in posting a 10-3 victory at Luther College Friday and clinching a spot in the Iowa Conference tournament. Sophomore pitcher Dirk Lindaman (Ankeny) threw 8.1 innings in raising his record to 5-1 as the teams opened a three-game series.
Shortstop Mike Furlong (junior, Davenport, Assumption HS) and second baseman Adam Ariola (freshman, Bloomington, Ill., Normal HS) led the assault with three hits, driving in two runs and scoring twice, and provided a spark from the start.
Furlong belted a leadoff double and scored on a single from Ariola to take a quick 1-0 lead. Ariola scored again in the fourth inning and designated hitter Caleb Rangel (senior, Rock Island, Ill.) punched a double in the sixth and scored for Central to grab a 3-2 advantage. Then the Dutch blasted five straight hits on their way to plating seven runs in the seventh.
“We just had things go our way,” coach Adam Stevens said. “We faced a good pitcher and had a good approach at the plate to find ways to score early before we put together a big seventh inning.”
Furlong connected for his 12th career triple, matching the school record set by Adam Duerfeldt from 2003-06. Rangel blasted his second double of the game and team-leading 16th of the season.
Third baseman Anthony Miller (senior, Davenport, Assumption HS), center fielder Sam Stetzel (sophomore, Perry), first baseman Seth Carson (sophomore, Woodridge, Ill., Downers Grove South HS) and left fielder Allen Mann (sophomore, Marshalltown) all had two hits.
Lindaman shut out the Norse for six innings, allowing three earned runs on nine hits and three walks. He struck out one and stranded eight Norse baserunners. Freshman Judson McKown (Maple Plain, Minn., Orono HS) tossed the last two at bats.
“Lindaman threw one of his best games all year,” Stevens said. “He threw strikes, competed well and got us out of some jams.”
Central (22-15, 12-10 conference) secures the fifth spot in the league tournament, making its seventh appearance in the last eight years.
“Even though we’re in the tournament we’ve still got a lot to play for going into the last matchup of the regular season,” Stevens said.
The Dutch finish the series with a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. One notch behind Central in the conference standings, Luther (21-17, 11-11 conference) battles for the final spot in the league tourney.
“I like how we played today,” Stevens said. “Everyone was ready to go and hopefully we can keep it going tomorrow.”
