Simpson drops pair of games at No. 23 Coe

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Josh Breitbarth belted two home runs to lead Simpson College baseball in its series-ending doubleheader at No. 23 Coe on Saturday. The Kohawks won 16-5 in the opener and scored a 5-4 walk-off in game two.

Breitbarth drove in three runners in the first game with the help of his two roundtrippers. Zach Hollingsworth tallied two hits in the nightcap for the Storm (7-15, 4-12 A-R-C).

Game One: Coe 16, Simpson 5
The Kohawks (22-3, 18-2 A-R-C) plated a run in the first before Breitbarth blasted his first homer of the day in the second.

The hosts scored four runs in the third with the aid of three hits to widen the gap. Simpson chipped away at the deficit with another homer from Breitbarth, this time a two-run trot in the fourth.

Over the next three frames, Coe would tally 11 runs to carry a 16-3 lead. The Storm had a late rally in the seventh by scoring two runs, highlighted by a Matthew Marquez run-scoring single.

Game Two: Coe 5, Simpson 4
The Kohawks scored in the bottom of the first on a wild pitch before Simpson knotted the game at 1-1 in the second as Hollingsworth scored on an error.

Marquez scored the same way in third. Later in the frame, Breitbarth attempted to steal second which allowed Kolton Arnold to streak home for the 3-1 lead. Coe added a run in the third.

Both teams remained scoreless through the next four innings. Brennen Lemke broke the scoring drought with an RBI double in the eighth to place the game at 4-2.

The nationally-ranked squad responded with two runs in the eighth to tie the game at 4-4. After Simpson went down in order in the ninth, Coe had the bases loaded with two outs. Jack Allison drew the walk-off base on-balls for the game-winning RBI.

On the mound, Trey Castile had six strikeouts, and allowed just four hits and two runs scored.

Up Next
Simpson returns to McBride Field next weekend for a four-game set against Nebraska Wesleyan. Games one and two will begin on Friday with first pitch at 1 p.m.