Liston, Kehoe lead Storm to game one win in split with Cornell

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa -- Trey Kehoe and Hunter Hillygus drove in two runs apiece, Cameron Liston twirled a gem and the Simpson baseball team beat Cornell 6-2 in game one of a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday at Ash Park Field. Cornell won game two 5-1.

Trey Kehoe had five hits on the day to lead the Storm (4-23), who snapped a four-game losing streak with the win in game one. The Rams (10-15) got two hits and two RBIs from Cale Jamesson in game two.

Game One

Simpson 6, Cornell 2

Kehoe went 3-for-3 with RBI singles in the first and fifth to back Liston, who threw five solid innings to earn his first career win.

Liston allowed five hits and one run, striking out five without allowing a walk. The lone run he allowed came off a wild pitch in the first. Liston gave up two hits in the opening frame, holding the Rams to three in his final three innings.

Simpson opened the game with two runs in the first then pulled away with three in the fifth.

Hillygus drove in the first run on a groundout. Kehoe singled to score Noah Sacco, who walked, making it 2-0. Jared Herzog doubled to lead off the fifth, scoring on a fielding error. Hillygus roped an RBI triple, then came in to score on Kehoe's single to make it 5-1.

Cornell added a run off Colin Sexton in the sixth but Tanner Jansen fanned two in the seventh to close the door. He walked the third batter of the inning, the lone walk issued by Storm pitching in the game.

Top Offensive Performances
Trey Kehoe — 3-3, 2 RBIs
Hunter Hillygus — 2-4, 3B, 2 RBIs
Jared Herzog — 2-4, 2 2B

Pitching Breakdown
Cameron Liston — W (1-3), 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 Ks
Colin Sexton — 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Tanner Jansen — 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 Ks

Game Two

Cornell 5, Simpson 1

Cale Jamesson drove in two runs and scored two more to help the Rams earn the split.

Kehoe and Nathan Carlin had two hits apiece for the Storm, but Simpson mustered just one run on seven hits. Carlin drove in Kehoe on a single to tie the game 1-1 in the second, but Brandon Urias was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

Ross Swinton allowed an unearned run off four hits in four innings to earn the win for Cornell.

Jamesson put Cornell on the board with a sacrifice fly in the first, then made it 2-1 when he stole home in the fourth. Lucas Larson also scored in the inning and Cornell added two more in the fifth.

Curt Castenson was saddled with the loss, allowing three runs -- all earned -- off four hits in four innings. All three hurlers -- Castenson, Michael Sunga and Tom Kunzer -- went without issuing a walk.

Top Offensive Performances
Nathan Carlin — 2-3, RBI
Trey Kehoe — 2-3

Pitching Breakdown
Curt Castenson — L (0-4), 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 Ks
Michael Sunga — 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER 0 BB, 1 K
Tom Kunzer — 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

News and Notes
• Hunter Hillygus played in the 100th game of his career and increased his career total to 95 hits.
• Simpson pitchers didn't allow a walk in game two, the first time this season the Storm haven't issued a free pass.
• The five hits allowed by Cameron Liston in game one are the fewest he's allowed in a start since his first of the season on March 7 against Concordia (Neb.) in Tucson.
• Tanner Jansen's brief relief appearance in game one lowered his ERA to a team-best 5.11. He owns a 2.40 ERA in his last 15 innings of work, striking out 11 and walking three.

Up Next
Simpson returns to Iowa Conference play with a three-game series at Central this weekend, beginning Friday with a single, nine-inning game beginning at 3 p.m. in Pella. The Dutch are 11-15 overall and 2-8 in the Iowa Conference.