Four ninth-inning home runs gives Dutch win in baseball
DUBUQUE – A ninth-inning rally featuring four home runs by the Central College baseball team helped the Dutch finish the 2024 season on a winning note in a 16-15 victory over Loras College Saturday morning.
Central (16-23, 10-14 American Rivers Conference) was trailing 13-9 entering the final frame of Saturday’s series and season ender against Loras (23-16, 12-11 conference). A two-run home run by Declan O’Hare (fifth year, first base, Los Angeles, Calif., John Marshall HS) was immediately followed by a Colton Jones (senior, left fielder, Knoxville) solo shot.
“You always know Declan has that ability when he is on time,” coach Adam Carey said. “He got off the best swing he could have and got all of the ball. It was also awesome to see Colton put a good swing on a ball. He smoked it.”
Coming off the bench for his first varsity game since April 9, third baseman Garrett (freshman, Grayslake, Ill., Central HS) planted a three-run home run over the fence to give Central a 15-13 lead.
“Garrett has had such a typical freshman year,” Carey said. “He has done a good job with the opportunities he has had, and he’s kept a good attitude all the way through. He did well in junior varsity games, and we knew he would have the right approach. He was rewarded with the swing he took.”
Guenther’s blast had tied the school record for team home runs in a game after third baseman Brayden Sawyer (sophomore, Grundy Center) and designated hitter Dom DeLaPaz (junior, Davenport, West HS) each had two-run homers early in the contest. Center fielder Max Steinlage (sophomore, Cedar Falls) made it a school record six when his deep drive to center field went off the fence, kicked away from the Duhawk outfielders and enabled the speedy Steinlage to connect for an inside-the-park home run.
Doubles by Sawyer and Steinlage and a three-run triple by catcher Caleb Douglass (junior, Windsor, Colo.) in the sixth inning gave Central nine extra-base hits to go with eight singles.
Senior second baseman Logan McCoy (senior, Galva, Alta-Aurelia HS) scored three times from his leadoff spot and classmate Colton DeRocher (senior, right fielder, Sioux City, East HS) had two hits and two runs scored.
Central scored 34 runs over the three-game series at Loras. The team’s previous high in a three-game conference series was 22 against Nebraska Wesleyan University in March.
“Our guys took a great approach to everything they did in the box this weekend,” Carey said. “They put good swings on the ball in all three games. We looked great all weekend up and down the lineup.”
After removing starting pitcher Boston Devault (freshman, Greenfield, Nodaway Valley HS) in the third inning following seven earned runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings, Central used three different relievers. It was O’Hare who got the win in his final collegiate appearance, pitching the eighth and ninth innings and allowing two runs on three hits and three strikeouts. He stranded the winning run on first base to end the game
“It was awesome to see Declan go out the way he did,” Carey said. “He has been staple of our rotation for a few years and it was nice to see him cap his career with a win.”
It was certainly a memorable game for Central’s nine seniors to finish with.
“I told the team after the game that it was a fitting way for them to go out,” Carey said. “They faced a lot of adversity and had plenty of reasons to leave or stop playing the game. They stuck it out and found a way to make a bunch of positives out of something that could have been negative. Their never say die attitude shone through today.”
That group of nine seniors helped the Dutch win three conference series in a single season for the first time since 2019. It’s also the best conference winning percentage since that same season while passing last year’s season win total.
“They left the program in a better place than they found it,” Carey said.
