WAVERLY, Iowa – The Wartburg College Knights baseball team (4-10 overall, 2-1 A-R-C) defeated the University of Dubuque Spartans (6-4-1, 1-2) 9-6 on Sunday evening.
Offensively, junior infielder
Andrew Walker (Eagan, Minn.) led the Knights by going 2-4 at the plate with two RBIs and scoring a run. Fellow classmate
Tyler Nunemaker (Ely) also batted 2-4, while junior
Tyler Hovick (Roland) went 1-4 with two RBIs and a home run, the first of the year for Wartburg.
Sophomore pitcher
Dylan Gotto (Peosta) recorded his first win of the season by pitching six innings and recording a career-high nine strikeouts. Junior
Tony Rex (Oelwein) collected the save after pitching the final three innings, striking out two along the way.
The Knights started the game off in a big way by scoring six runs in the first inning. The first run was scored when junior
Manny Jeffery (Marion) reached first on a fielder's choice, which allowed for sophomore outfielder
JoJo McNair (Joliet, Ill.) to take a chance at home where he would be called safe after diving over the extended glove of the Spartan catcher to put the Knights up 1-0.
After a Nunemaker double, Walker singled to right field, bringing home Nunemaker and Jeffery to push the lead to 3-0. Walker later scored after Hovick reached on an error by the Dubuque pitcher to put Wartburg up 4-0. Freshman
Bryce Butler (Mason City) then doubled to left field, scoring both Hovick and Ridge to complete the inning up 6-0.
The Spartans failed to answer the Knights offensive explosion, remaining scoreless throughout the first five innings of the contest. At the top of the sixth, Dubuque erupted for five runs to trim the lead to one (6-5) before Gotto could escape the inning by striking out the final Dubuque batter.
Wartburg responded to the Spartans with a two-run sixth inning of their own, highlighted by Hovick's home run and a sac fly by McNair that scored Butler to go up 8-5.
At the bottom of the eighth, Wartburg scored their last run of the day when freshman
Jarod Harris (Manchester) connected on a single to center that scored
Joey Baumann (Woodbury, Minn.) to push the lead to 9-5. Dubuque scored one run in the ninth before falling short of a comeback and losing 9-6 to the Knights.
Wartburg will return to action on Tuesday, where they will hit the road to face Gustavus Adolphus in doubleheader action beginning at 2 p.m.