Jarred Lackey May 2, 2009

Dutch top Wartburg in season series

WAVERLY—The Central College baseball team fell 17-5 in game one but bounced back for an 8-5 win over Wartburg College in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader to earn the series win over the Knights on the road in Waverly.

With a 14-5 win Friday Central kept alive its hopes of making the Iowa Conference tournament, but after dropping Saturday’s opener to Wartburg (22-17, 14-10 Iowa Conference) while Simpson beat Buena Vista in their opening game, those slim hopes were dashed. But that didn’t keep Central from making the trip a success.

“It was still a great weekend for us,” said head coach Adam Stevens. “We were able to win the series against Wartburg when we both had a lot on the line and we played real well after dropping the first game today which I think says a lot about our guys.”

Wartburg got off to a fast start in game one with five first inning runs off Dutch starter D.J. Glasgow (sophomore, Burlington), but shortstop Mike Furlong (freshman) hit a one-out triple in the second to get Central going offensively. Central recorded five hits in the inning and put up five runs itself to tie the score.

But the Knights kept the pressure on all game, scoring in each frame of game one and the Dutch were unable to cut into their lead again. Glasgow was knocked out of the game after 2.2 innings, giving up 12 hits and eight runs. Freshman Joel Pulliam (Des Moines, Lincoln HS) pitched 2.1 innings in relief, giving up six runs on five hits and junior Trevor Talbott (Sioux City, East HS) pitched the final 1.0 inning, giving up three runs on four hits. Central was outhit 21-8 by Wartburg in the game and struck out 11 times.

Central trailed early again in game two when a double and a single gave Wartburg a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but in the Dutch half of the second a single by designated hitter B.J. Pilling (senior, Denison) drove in right fielder Jarred Lackey (sophomore, Somerton, Ariz., Cibola HS) from second base, and first baseman Derek Knutson (senior, Richland, Wash., Yorkville (Ill.) HS) scored on a wild pitch.

Thanks to a solid outing on the mound from junior Josh Nalan (Sheffield, SCMT HS), who went 5.2 innings and gave up five runs on 10 hits, the Dutch maintained their 2-1 lead until the top of the fourth when center fielder Ben Tressel (junior, Dubuque, Hempstead HS) and third baseman Anthony Miller (sophomore, Davenport, Assumption HS) each knocked in a run to increase the margin to 4-1. Central had a chance to bust the game open in the fifth when it loaded the bases with no outs. Lackey scored on a groundout by catcher Blake Smith (junior, Polk City, North HS) but the Dutch failed to further capitalize on the opportunity.

Lackey belted a two-run homer to right after a Miller single in the sixth to move the score to 7-2. In their half of the sixth the Knights scored three runs before Central brought in junior lefty Doug Eisenman (Grundy Center) to relieve Nalan. Eisenman walked his first batter before inducing a line out to end the inning, and worked a perfect seventh after the Dutch added an insurance run in the top of the inning to earn his second save of the season.

Saturday was the last chance to suit up for Dutch seniors Knutson, Pilling, Adam Squires (Center Point, Center Point-Urbana HS), Quinn O’Brien (Carroll, Kuemper HS), Chris Tibbals (Lime Springs, Crestwood HS) and Eric Speer (Milton, Van Buren HS).

“The thing about these guys is that they were just a good bunch of guys,” Stevens said. “They were good role models for our team on and off the field. This team we have right now is going to have success, and I think we’re going to owe a lot of it to these seniors.”

Central finishes the season 17-20 overall and 10-12 in the Iowa Conference. With Saturday’s split, Central extended its streak of 10-win conference seasons to six.

“We were so close so many times this season,” said Stevens. “But I think that comes with being young. I’m really happy with how we played and the progress we made all year, and I’m really excited about the future for this team.”