Central settles for No. 6 seed in baseball tourney
Central College
DECORAH—Central College will carry the No. 6 seed into the six-team Iowa Conference baseball tournament after Luther secured the No. 5 spot by sweeping the Dutch Saturday, 13-1 and 5-1, to close the regular-season slate.
Coe claimed the league crown with an 18-6 conference mark while Luther moved into fifth at 13-11 and Central finished at 12-12 in league play and is 22-17 overall. The double-elimination conference tourney will be staged next Thursday through Saturday in Cedar Rapids.
Runs were scarce for the Dutch Saturday. Central had eight hits in the opener but was held scoreless until the fifth inning when second baseman Adam Ariola (freshman, Bloomington, Ill., Rock Island HS) cracked a run-scoring double. Third baseman Anthony Miller (senior, Davenport, Assumption HS) and right fielder Jarred Lackey (senior, Somerton, Ariz., Cibola HS) each had two hits.
Joel Pulliam (junior, Des Moines, Lincoln HS), working on short rest, struck out nine hitters in just four innings. He yielded seven runs, but only two earned runs, as the Dutch committed three errors. Pulliam (6-4) gave up six hits and walked one.
Luther, which scored three runs in the first inning of the opener, also jumped on top in the nightcap with a four-run first inning. Ryan Goetzinger (sophomore, Mason City) gave up just one more run in five innings in falling to 4-5. He allowed seven hits and three walks with one strikeout.
Center fielder Sam Stetzel (sophomore, Perry) singled home Ariola in the fourth inning for Central’s lone run. The Dutch were limited to five hits.
“We didn’t respond very well to the opportunity we had,” coach Adam Stevens said. “Luther’s starting pitchers did a really nice job of shutting us down. We threatened several times but just couldn’t get that big hit like we did Friday.”
Yet Stevens thinks the Dutch can be a factor in the league tourney.
“We’re excited to be in the tournament,” he said. “We have a good opportunity ahead of us. This year in the Iowa Conference, there’s just not that much difference between the six teams. I really think it’s up for grabs.”
Pitching depth is critical in tournament play, with several games in a short time span. Stevens said the Dutch staff should be ready.
“All of our pitchers threw a little bit this week,” he said. “We’re going to need everybody. We’ve got to get through final exams over the next few days and then hopefully come out and play good baseball next weekend.”
