Jansen goes the distance in 10-2 win over Buena Vista

INDIANOLA -- Tanner Jansen threw a complete-game gem, Noah Sacco, Trey Kehoe and Kolton Arnold drove in two runs apiece and the Simpson baseball team beat Buena Vista 10-2 in the first of a three-game Iowa Conference series Friday night at McBride Field.

Sacco finished 2-for-3 and hit his ninth double of the season to spark a three-run fifth for the Storm (5-26, 3-15), who snapped a four-game losing streak. Arnold and Brandon Urias also had RBI singles in the inning as Simpson opened a 7-2 lead.

In his first start since a one-inning, four-run outing last Friday against Central, Jansen bounced back in a big way. He scattered eight hits, struck out seven and walked three in the best outing of his career. The nine-inning complete game is the first by a Simpson pitcher since the 2015 season.

"Tanner came up big for us tonight," head coach Nathan Roling said. "It was great to see him have the performance he did. He's pitched well this past month with some hard luck, but he's kept competing and it showed tonight."

Jansen carried a shutout into the fifth inning before the Beavers (12-18, 8-9) struck with a pair of runs. Coleman Roberts brought in Bryce Rheult and Peyton Renning with one-out single but Jansen got out of the jam with a fielder's choice and a groundout.

A pair of Buena Vista errors extended the bottom of the first inning as Simpson built a 2-0 lead. The lead grew to 4-0 in the third when Truman Schmitt singled to drive in Kehoe, who was hit by Eric LaRue's pitch to load the bases. 

The lead could have been more but Arnold was thrown out at home trying to score on Schmitt's base hit.

Jansen got stronger as the game went on, holding Buena Vista without a hit in the final three innings. He allowed just one hit in the final four frames, lowering his ERA to 3.75 in his last four starts. 

The Storm added one run on an error in the sixth then got two more in the seventh. Urias scored on a wild pitch and Sacco drove in his second RBI on a sacrifice fly.

Hunter Hillygus finished with two hits, increasing his career total to 99.

Top Offensive Performances
Noah Sacco — 2-3, 2B, 2 RBIs
Truman Schmitt — 2-3, 2 BB, RBI
Hunter Hillygus — 2-5, 2 R
Jared Herzog — 2-6, 2 R

Pitching Breakdown
Tanner Jansen — W (2-3), 9.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 Ks