Brett Mahan March 22, 2008

Mahan’s one-hitter pushes Central in Iowa Conference split

PELLA—Senior pitcher Brett Mahan (West Des Moines, Valley HS) allowed one hit in seven innings to lead the Central College baseball team to a 3-1 Iowa Conference win over Simpson College Saturday but the Storm pulled out a 2-0, 10-inning win in the nightcap.  

Mahan (3-0) struck out five and walked two in the complete game as the Dutch (7-6 overall, 2-1 conference) took two games in the three-game series.

“Brett threw really well,” said coach Adam Stevens. “He had everything going for him, and we played good defense behind him.”

Junior shortstop Jake Jadlowski (Omaha, Neb., Ralston HS) went 2-for-3, scored one run and had an RBI for the Dutch.

Mahan’s impressive performance in the first game was matched in the second by junior pitcher Adam Squires (Center Point, Center Point-Urbana HS) who threw nine shutout innings with nine strikeouts and six walks while allowing only three hits for Simpson (7-6 overall, 1-2 conference) hits.

“Adam threw the ball well,” said Stevens. “He battled for us all day.”

Simpson kept Central’s bats silent as well, allowing only six hits.

Central had a chance to end the game in the ninth inning when sophomore center fielder Anthony Bazant Adam Squires(Omaha, Neb., Ralston HS) hit a shot down the left-field line that would have plated Jadlowski from second base, but it was ruled foul.

The Storm ended the stalemate when left fielder Chris Jones hit a two-run home run to left center following a two-out Dutch error. Mike Luce (senior, Omaha, Neb., Millard North HS) dropped to 0-2.

The homer ended 24.1 innings in which Central’s pitching had allowed only one run.

Despite the setback, Stevens felt upbeat.

“We pitched and played defense well which was a big improvement from what we did in Arizona,” he said. “Our offense struggled all day, but our goal is to win each series and we did that.”

Central returns Wednesday to play at Grinnell College for a 2 p.m. nine-inning game.