Derek Knutson at bat April 23, 2008

Knutson's three hits power Dutch

PELLA—The Central College baseball team sprinted to a 3-0 lead after the first inning and held on for a 6-3 Iowa Conference win over Cornell College Wednesday.

The Dutch (17-14 overall, 7-8 conference) received big offensive days from junior left fielder Derek Knutson (Richland, Wash., Yorkville, Ill. HS) and freshman designated hitter Caleb Rangel (Rock Island, Ill., Alleman HS) who knocked in a combined five runs. Knutson went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs while Rangel was 2-for-3 with a pair batted-in while scoring a run.

With Central in control 4-1 with two outs in the seventh a Dutch error followed by an inside-the-park home run on a line shot into the right-field corner by Michael Tierney pulled the Rams to within 4-3. But Central came right back with two runs of its own in the bottom of the seventh.

“Cornell got a lot of momentum by cutting it to one in the seventh,” said coach Adam Stevens. “We answered with two runs and that was the difference. It was a really good response in the seventh.”

Central received a quality start from freshman pitcher Dayton Glasgow (Burlington HS) who went six innings, gave up five hits and one run, while striking out four and walking none. He got the win to improve to 5-1.

“(Dayton) had another nice start,” Stevens said. “He competed, threw strikes and gave us a chance to win. That is all we ask our starters to do.”

In the first inning, Rangel singled home a run and Knutson following with a two-run single. Cornell (10-11 overall, 4-8 conference) responded with a tally in the third. Knutson had an run-scoring single in the sixth.

Despite recording two errors, Stevens said his squad made some great defensive plays and he was especially pleased with junior shortstop Jake Jadlowski (Omaha, Neb., Ralston HS).

“Jake made two outstanding plays that were really important for us,” Stevens said.

Central is scheduled to play a nine-inning contest with Coe College (10-7 overall, 18-14 conference) Thursday at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex field at 3 p.m. The Dutch took two of three from the Kohawks last season. The teams are slated to meet again in a doubleheader at Pella Saturday at 1 p.m.