Storm complete season sweep of Central, fall to Grinnell under the lights
Game 1
Game 1
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Simpson | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 3 |
|
Central (Iowa) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Grinnell | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 4 |
|
Simpson | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Simpson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 3 |
|
Central (Iowa) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
PELLA, Iowa – Bud Smith and Hunter Hillygus drove in game-winning runs and the Simpson baseball team completed the season-sweep of Central with a pair of comeback wins Tuesday, taking game one 10-7 and game two 5-3.
Simpson trailed 5-0 in game one and 2-0 in game two before coming back to earn its first regular-season sweep of the Dutch since 2006. Smith went 6-for-8 on the day and Hillygus finished with five RBIs for the Storm (10-19, 7-11 Iowa Conference).
Simpson took a 7-6 lead with four runs in the sixth, getting two on a double by Smith. Central tied it on a Spencer Gritsch double in the home half and neither team scored in the seventh to force the extra frame.
Trent Dooley – who entered as a pinch-hitter in the sixth – got his second hit to start the eighth and scored on a single by Smith, who finished a 4-for-4 game at the plate. Simpson got a pair of insurance runs and Brock Borgeson (5-3) finished out the win in relief, holding Central to three hits over the final 2 2/3 innings.
Central took a 5-0 lead with four runs in the second before a two-RBI double by Gage Reis sparked a three-run third to get Simpson back in the game.
The Dutch (7-19, 5-11) got out quick again in game two, leading 2-0 before Hillygus drove in two on a double to tie it in the fourth. Simpson took the lead in the sixth, tying it on an error before Hillygus drove in the go-ahead run.
Trevor Dudar shut down Central in the final two innings, fanning two without allowing a hit for his second save. Jalen Sickels (2-3) went five innings in the win, allowing three runs – all earned – on five hits with three strikeouts.
Because game one – scheduled for seven innings – went to extras, it became the nine-inning game which resulted in game two going seven innings.
Storm fall to Grinnell in final non-conference clash
Simpson gave up 15 runs off 15 hits in a 15-7 loss to No. 30 Grinnell under the lights on Wednesday in the final non-conference game of the season.
The starters made a brief appearance before head coach Ben Blake went to the bench, getting 25 different players – including six pitchers – into the game. Trevor Luther went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Sawyer Ocheltree hit a two-run bomb to left in the sixth to lead the Storm (10-20).
The Pioneers (22-4) got their 10th-straight win by scoring 14 runs – seven in the fourth – in the first four innings. Niko Takayesu went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and Anthony Mack went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Midwest Conference frontrunners.
Storm host Loras this weekend
Simpson returns to Iowa Conference action this weekend when it hosts Loras in a four-game set from McBride Field. The Duhawks (9-17, 3-13) were swept by Coe last weekend before earning a doubleheader split with cross-town rival Dubuque on Tuesday. All games will be streamed live on simpsonathletics.com.