Dutch suffer baseball sweep against Buena Vista
PELLA – Battling back after a tough 12-1 loss in the opener, the Central College baseball team came up short with a 5-4 loss in the nightcap against Buena Vista University Saturday
The Beavers (19-6, 8-2 American Rivers Conference) jumped ahead of the Dutch (9-13, 3-4 conference) in the fifth inning with a 3-0 lead. Right fielder Colton DeRocher (senior, Sioux City, East HS) broke the seal on Central’s offense with a two-run double in the bottom half of the inning.
“That swing put us back on track,” coach Adam Carey said. “It reminded everyone of how we do things and how we go about our business.”
Central took the lead after first baseman Declan O’Hare (fifth year, Los Angeles, Calif. John Marshall HS) reached on a throwing error that moved DeRocher to third, where he scored on a passed ball a few pitches later. Another Beaver throwing error allowed third baseman Brayden Sawyer (sophomore, Grundy Center) to reach and O’Hare to score, giving Central a 4-3 lead.
“The way we played in the box and on the bases in the back of half of the second game is how we want to play the game,” Carey said. “We played how we expect to play, they just got the best of us.”
Buena Vista clawed back with runs in the sixth and seventh innings for the game’s final score.
Max Steinlage (sophomore, Cedar Falls) struck out seven after starting game two and throwing five innings. He gave up four earned runs on two walks and seven hits. Bryce Haessig (sophomore, Huxley, Ballard HS) relieved him in the sixth and struck out a pair while yielding a single run on two hits and no walks.
“Max had an awesome start,” Carey said. “He competed hard all the way through and found a way to give us a chance to win. Bryce spun it well and attacked the zone. When they got him, he went right back to it and got the next guy out.”
Carey mentioned the efforts of Colton Jones (senior, Knoxville) who came into left field in the fifth after an injury and worked an eighth inning walk.
Game one’s starting pitcher Mark Kenney (sophomore, Fennimore, Wis.) issued no walks over 6.0 innings as three earned runs crossed the plate. He falls to 2-3 on the season.
“Mark’s start got overshadowed if you look at the score,” “But he was lights out for the first five innings.”
Catcher Caleb Douglass (junior, Windsor, Colo.) had the lone RBI in the opener, when his ground ball to third resulted in a fielder’s choice when Brayden Sawyer (sophomore, third baseman, Grundy Center) slid into home safely.
The Dutch hit the road for a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Coe College Tuesday.
