Wartburg escapes Central baseball team at league tourney
Central College
CEDAR RAPIDS–Central College battled Wartburg College for 11 innings before dropping a 6-5 decision in the opening round of the Iowa Conference baseball tournament Thursday.
Central (22-18), the No. 6 seed, overcame a two-run deficit after a four-run seventh inning by the Knights. But Wartburg capitalized on a Dutch error to score the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th.
The Dutch fight to keep their season alive in an elimination game Friday at 10 a.m. against fifth-seeded Luther College (23-18) at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Central posted two runs in the third inning when shortstop Mike Furlong (junior, Davenport, Assumption HS) doubled down the left field line to drive in left fielder Allen Mann (sophomore, Marshalltown) before scoring off a single from designated hitter Caleb Rangel (senior, Rock Island, Ill.).
The Dutch edged back in the eighth, scoring on a sacrifice fly from Mann, and second baseman Adam Ariola (freshman, Bloomington, Ill., Normal HS) delivered the game-tying single to center field in the ninth. But the Knights broke a two-inning standstill for the victory.
“We battled our tail off the entire game,” coach Adam Stevens said. “I’m really happy with how we competed, but certainly not with the outcome.”
Brett Bell (junior, Jewell, South Hamilton HS) was charged with his third loss of the season, allowing one earned run on three hits and two walks in two innings. Starter Joel Pulliam (junior, Des Moines, Lincoln HS) tossed 6.2 innings, yielding three earned runs on 10 hits and one walk. Striking out four Wartburg batters, Pulliam improved his school season strikeout record total to 85.
“Hopefully we’ll bring the same energy and competitiveness tomorrow that we had today,” Stevens said. “Our goal is to survive game to game and see what happens.”
The Dutch were 1-2 at Luther last weekend, winning the nine-inning matchup but falling in the doubleheader. The last time Central beat Luther in the league tournament was a memorable win in 2006. The Dutch rallied past the Norse 12-11 in an elimination game, pounding out seven runs in the ninth inning.
