high hard one from Josh Nalan March 9, 2009

Florida trip starts frenzied week

PELLA—It will be a frenzied spring break for the Central College baseball team, which makes an early return following seven games in Florida, stops for a game in Illinois and wraps up the week by opening the Iowa Conference season in Cedar Rapids.

After a weekend at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, the Dutch are 0-2 and return to action Friday in Fort Myers, Fla., taking on Southern Vermont College at 4 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) and the Univ. of Scranton (Pa.) at 7 p.m. Saturday Central meets the Coast Guard Academy at 10 a.m., then completes a suspended game with Bethel Univ. (Minn.) at 1p.m. The game was Feb. 28  in the sixth inning because of a time limit with Central leading 4-2.

Central battles highly regarded Augustana College (Ill.) March 15 at 8:30 a.m., then meets the Univ. of Minn.-Morris in a doubleheader March 16 at 2 p.m. before closing with a 9 a.m. game against Plattsburgh State Univ. (N.Y.) March 17.

On the trip back Central stops in Springfield, Ill. for a 6 p.m. game with Robert Morris-Springfield March 18, then gears up for a three-game conference series at Coe College. The teams clash March 20 in a 3 p.m. game followed by a 1 p.m. doubleheader March 21.

“It’s a really busy week, but spring break always is,” coach Adam Stevens said. “We’ll definitely have to rely on our depth. And I think we have some.”

Stevens will get a good look at much of the roster. With conference games looming, Stevens will adjust his Florida pitching rotation.

“Generally your top four pitchers get two starts on a trip like this,” he said. “But that’s not going to happen. We put the conference season first and foremost.”

But, Stevens quickly adds, he’s not even sure yet who those four hurlers are.

The Robert Morris game was a late addition to the Dutch schedule.

“That will be interesting,” Stevens said. “We’ll just roll off the bus and play a game. But I think it will be a nice break from the bus ride. It gives us something to look forward to and it keeps us in rhythm for the weekend.”

The Florida and Illinois games are first-ever meetings for Central with every opponent except Augustana. The Vikings hold a 9-1 series lead, most recently taking on the Dutch in 2006. Already in Florida, Augustana is 8-2 thus far.

Coe defeated Central three times in Pella last year, only to have the Dutch come back for a 5-0 win when the teams met again in the league tournament. The Kohawks were 22-20 overall and are picked to finish third in the league. Central is tabbed for sixth place. Stevens warns that Coe boasts an especially talented pitching staff.

“They’ll be very good,” he said.

Several young players are off to a strong start for Central. Freshman shortstop Mike Furlong (Davenport, Assumption HS) is hitting .556 through two games. Sophomore outfielders Jarred Lackey (sophomore, Somerton, Ariz., Cibola HS) and Caleb Rangel (Rock Island, Ill., Alleman HS) and senior first baseman Derek Knutson (Richland, Wash., Yorkville, Ill. HS) are each batting .429.

Stevens said the Dutch are ready for the trip.                                                             

“The nice thing is that we’ve gotten outside this past week,” he said. “Last year we had our first batting practice on our field in April. This year it was March 4. You can improve a lot with even just one outdoor practice.

“I love the guys’ attitude and hope we keep improving.”