WAVERLY, Iowa – Wartburg baseball will continue American Rivers Conference play this weekend with a three-game road series against Central College on Friday and Saturday, Apr. 1-2. The Knights will be back at home on Tuesday, Apr. 5 for an A-R-C matchup with Luther College.
Friday, Apr. 1 – 3:00 p.m. – Pella, Iowa – Central Baseball Field
Wartburg Knights (13-9, 3-2 A-R-C) vs Central Dutch (9-6, 0-5 A-R-C)
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Saturday, Apr. 2 – 1:00 p.m. – Pella, Iowa – Central Baseball Field
DH Game 1: Wartburg Knights (13-9, 3-2 A-R-C) vs Central Dutch (9-6, 0-5 A-R-C)
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Saturday, Apr. 2 – Following Game 1 – Pella, Iowa – Central Baseball Field
DH Game 2: Wartburg Knights (13-9, 3-2 A-R-C) vs Central Dutch (9-6, 0-5 A-R-C)
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Tuesday, Apr. 5 – 6:00 p.m.
– Waverly, Iowa – Harms Stadium at Hertel Field
Wartburg Knights (13-9, 3-2 A-R-C) vs Luther Norse (9-7, 2-2 A-R-C)
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Last Time Out
After the first two Knights batters got on,
Zach Wesolowski singled to left field to bring in the first run of the game.
Max Goodhue scored later in the inning after Wesolowski stole second and an error on the play that brought Goodhue home. Luther responded with three runs in the bottom of the first to make the score 3-2 Luther after one inning.
The Orange & Black put two more runs up in the second inning after a wild pitch brought
Carter Stubitz in to score and Goodhue doubled to score
Eliot Jurgensen.
Keaton Gray added a sacrifice fly in the third inning to make the score 5-3 Knights. The Norse got one run back in the bottom of the third after a leadoff double led to a score.
Luther tied the game up in the bottom of the fourth inning after an RBI single and the score was 5-5 heading to the fifth. The Knights had the bases loaded in the top of the fifth but were unable to bring any runs across. In the bottom half, Luther scored six runs after an RBI double and multiple RBI singles that brought the score to 11-5 after five innings.
Jurgensen and Goodhue both singled to start the sixth inning and then
Zach Walton homered to bring them both home.
Ben DeKruyf hit a sacrifice fly to add another run in the eighth inning that made the score 11-9 Luther still in front.
Gray reached by an error to begin the ninth inning and then
Bryce Butler doubled to put runners on second and third. Stubitz and Jurgensen both hit RBI singles to tie the game at 11. With two outs and runners on the corner, Walton went deep to right field for his second homerun of the game and put the Orange & Black up 14-11.
Cael Boehmer closed the bottom of the ninth with two strikeouts and earned the win on the mound in his relief effort. The junior allowed just three hits and recorded six strikeouts in five innings pitched for the Knights.
The Knights also led 3-1 in game two through six innings before it was postponed due to darkness.
Season Leaders
Walton leads the Orange & Black at the plate in batting average (.397), RBI (35), and homeruns (6). The Farmington, Minn. native has drawn 17 walks along as well as tied for team high in hit by pitches with 7.
Goodhue is batting .377 through 18 games played for the Knights, which is second highest currently on the team. Despite a few missed games the senior is still second on the team in hits with 26, third in doubles with 6 recorded, and leading the Knights in triples with two on the year.
Caleb Andrews has a team leading 27 hits and is batting .375 for the Orange & Black. Wesolowski leads Wartburg in steals this season with nine on eleven attempts.
Of starting pitchers,
Dreyton LaVeine has the lowest ERA with a mark of 1.73 through five appearances (four starts) and 26 innings pitched. The Burlington, Iowa native has a starting record of 3-1 this season and has recorded 24 strikeouts.
Three starting pitchers have at least two wins for the Knights this season in
Dylan Gotto,
Joey Ciero,
Will Armstrong, and LaVeine. Gotto leads all pitchers with 38 strikeouts and 31 innings pitched.
Aaron Eybers leads all pitchers in appearances with eight so far this season. In those eight appearances the senior right hander has recorded one win and two saves through 16.1 innings pitched.
Central
The Dutch enter the weekend series with an overall record of 9-6 but are winless in conference play with five losses. The losses came to no. 16 ranked Loras college in a doubleheader and a three-game sweep from Buena Vista to open conference play.
The Dutch are led by Colton DeRocher at the plate, who has an average of .419 and has six extra-base hits.
Declan O' Hare leads Central pitchers with 18.1 innings pitched and a record of 2-0 through four starts. The junior right hander has 18 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .200.
Luther
Luther is currently 9-7 overall with a record of 2-2 in A-R-C play. Before the loss to the Knights on Tuesday, Mar. 29 the Norse took two out of three games against a ranked Loras squad.
The Norse will have a three-game series against the University of Dubuque on the road before coming to Waverly to finish the series with the Knights.
The Norse have two batters hitting above .400 in Gavin Scurr and Charlie Rubendall. Scurr has hit five homeruns and leads the team with 25 RBI.
Ryan Manternach leads Norse pitchers with an overall record of 3-0 through five total starts. The senior has recorded 21 strikeouts and only five walks through 25.1 innings pitched.
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