WAVERLY, Iowa – Baseball dropped both games of today's home doubleheader against Luther after combined run totals of 59 between the two games. Luther won game one 20-15 and then took game two 15-10 to move Wartburg to 15-12 and 6-9 in American Rivers Conference play.
Game Summary
- Game One
- First Inning
- Luther got the scoring started in the top of the first with a three-run HR to take an early 3-0 lead
- The Knights responded in the bottom half when Keaton Gray scored on a ground ball and Noah Day brought Eliot Jurgensen around on an RBI single to cut the deficit to one
- Third Inning
- The Norse tallied another run in the top of the third to extend their lead to two
- Wartburg answered with a run of their own on a Zach Walton RBI double that drove in Jurgensen to cut the Norse lead back to one
- The Knights tied the game after Cole Wessling reached on an error that brought Walton across the plate to make it 4-4 after three
- Fourth Inning
- A Jurgensen triple to right center brought Gray around to score and gave the Knights their first lead of the game at 5-4
- After back-to-back walks, Noah Day clears the bases with a grand slam over the right field wall give the Knights a five-run lead
- Sixth Inning
- Luther led off the top of the inning with back-to-back HRs to cut the Knights lead to three
- Walton answered the two Luther HRs with a solo HR of his own to push the Wartburg lead back to four
- Seventh Inning
- The Norse responded in the top half scoring eight runs on six hits to retake the lead 14-10 heading into the bottom of the seventh
- With the bases loaded, Gray scored Wessling on a sacrifice fly followed by a two-run triple from Jurgensen to cut the Norse lead to one
- Eighth Inning
- Luther added three more runs in the top half of the eighth to put the Norse ahead 17-13
- Day responded with a solo shot over the wall in right center field to cut the Luther lead to three
- Ninth Inning
- The Norse added three more runs in the ninth off an RBI single and another two-run HR to extend their lead to six
- Wartburg added one run in the bottom half, but could not rally from five down as the Norse take game one 20-15
Top Performers
- Noah Day
- 4/6 at the plate (Two HRs)
- Six RBIs (Career-high)
- Two runs scored
- Eliot Jurgensen
- 4/5 at the plate (Two triples)
- Three RBIs
- Three runs scored
- Zach Walton
- 2/4 at the plate (One HR)
- Three RBIs
- Three runs scored
Game Summary
- Game Two
- First Inning
- The Norse started game two with a two-run HR over the left field wall to take an early 2-0 lead
- The Knights responded in the bottom half on a two-run double by Sam Nicolino that scored Walton and Jurgensen to tie the game 2-2
- Second Inning
- Luther added two more runs on two hits in the top of the second to retake a 4-2 lead
- Gray answered the Norse runs in the top half with a solo HR to cut the deficit to one headed to the third
- Third Inning
- The Norse added four runs off three hits to extend their lead to 8-3 going into the bottom half of the third
- Fourth Inning
- With two runners on and two outs, Gray clears the bases with a two-run triple to make it 8-5 Luther headed into the fifth
- Fifth Inning
- The Luther bats continued to stay hot as they tallied two more runs in the top of the fifth to extend their lead to five
- Wartburg added two runs of their own by way of an RBI double from Day and a sacrifice fly from Caleb Andrews to make it 10-7 Norse after five innings
- Seventh Inning
- The Norse added four more runs on four hits to push their lead to 14-7 after the top half of the inning
- Carter Stubitz came around to score on an RBI fielder's choice from Jack Bunkers to make the deficit six, after seven innings of play
- Eighth Inning
- The Knights added two more runs from a two-run HR by Walton, his second of the day, to cut the Luther lead to four heading into the ninth
- Ninth Inning
- Wartburg was able to get a runner on base, but could not complete the comeback in the bottom of the ninth as Luther wins 14-10
Top Performers
- Keaton Gray
- 2/5 at the plate (One HR)
- Three RBIs
- One triple
- Zach Walton
- 2/3 at the plate (One HR)
- Two RBIs
- Three runs scored
- Sam Nicolino
- 2/5 at the plate
- Two RBIs
- One run scored
Coaches Comments
"What a tale of two different days," said Head Coach
Casey Klunder during his postgame thoughts. "I give them (Luther) credit for what they did today, they put up 30+ hits between two games today so it was a good showing of how dangerous this team is."
The Knights had some bright spots across the offensive lineup today, beginning with
Noah Day's monster game one. "He had been in a little bit of a slump and battling injuries, but he's a good player and came back in a big way." said Klunder on Day's performance at the plate.
"There were positives to take away from today's games and Eliot's at bats today were a big positive," continued Klunder. Jurgensen was another Knight with a great day at the plate, including four extra-base hits in game one.
Wartburg is now headed into it's A-R-C bye week, which couldn't come at a better time according to Klunder. "We're going to get these guys some well deserved rest, our starting pitchers have gone late into games and we've ridden our bullpen hard." "After rest, we just need to focus on executing better, especially with runners in scoring position and out of the bullpen."
Notes/Streaks
- All-time series moves to 87-74, still in favor of the Knights
- Jurgensen now has seven triples this season
- One shy of tying single-season record at Wartburg
- Day hit his first two home runs of his Wartburg career today
- Walton is now at 25 career home runs
- Third all-time at Wartburg
- First home run of the season for Gray
Next Time Out
The Knights will be in action next on Saturday, Apr. 20 for a doubleheader against the College of St. Scholastica on the road.
