D.J. Glasgow March 21, 2009

Central pitches its way to doubleheader sweep

CEDAR RAPIDS—Freshman Corey Eisenman (Bloomingdale, Ill., Driscoll Catholic HS) threw a two-hit shutout and sophomore D.J. Glasgow (Burlington) allowed only one run in seven innings as Central College notched a pair of victories over Iowa Conference foe Coe in Cedar Rapids Saturday.

In game one of the twin bill Glasgow scattered eight hits, struck out two and walked two en route to a 4-1 Dutch victory. Central was more productive at the plate in game two as Eisenman walked one and struck out one in a 12-0 win.

“Our pitching has been inconsistent so far and we needed some guys to really bring their A-game with them,” said head coach Adam Stevens. “And these guys both did that. They pitched exceptionally well today.”

Central took an early lead in the first game when a triple by freshman second baseman Mike Furlong (Davenport, Assumption HS) followed by a single from left fielder Caleb Rangel (sophomore, Rock Island, Ill., Alleman HS) put the Dutch on the board in the top of the first. Coe (7-8, 1-2 conference) answered in their half of the first inning, but Glasgow induced a groundout to strand a pair of runners on base and keep the score knotted at one.

Coe threatened several more times but was kept from crossing the plate. Central added two more runs in the third when a double by senior first baseman Derek Knutson (Richland, Wash., Yorkville (Ill.) HS) drove in sophomore right fielder Jarred Lackey (Somerton, Ariz., Cibola HS) and Furlong, and a Rangel double in the seventh added another run for good measure.

Both teams were tied through three innings in game two before a Knutson three-run home run with two outs gave Central a three run advantage. Knutson also drove in a run in the sixth and a run in the seventh to finish the day with seven runs batted in on three hits.

“Derek (Knutson) played really well today,” Stevens said. “As one of the older guys on the team I think we needed him to step up and be an example for the younger guys on this team.”

With the victories Central improves to 6-8 (2-1 conference). The Dutch will play their home opener at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex baseball field at 2 p.m. on Wednesday against Grinnell (7-3 overall). Last season the two teams split as Grinnell won the first matchup 10-7, but Central won the rematch by a score of 11-7 in extra innings.