Held tosses complete game to split twinbill at Luther

DECORAH, Iowa -- The Simpson College baseball team halted Luther's seven-game winning streak by splitting the doubleheader on Sunday. The Storm won the opener, 3-1, before the Norse rebounded with a 10-5 triumph.

Brady Held tossed a complete game in the first contest, including nine strikeouts to allow just one run on four hits. Held also blasted a home run in game two.

This was the third time all season the Norse (24-8, 20-4 A-R-C) were held to just one run and the first against an American Rivers Conference opponent.

Game One: Simpson 3, Luther 1
After two quiet innings to begin the day, the Norse piled on a run in the third after a two-out double put the hosts on the board.

The Storm (11-19, 8-16 A-R-C) knotted the game in the fifth with some small ball. TJ Stephenson started the frame with a double, before Luke Willis moved him over on a sacrifice bunt. Head coach Nathan Rolling signaled to Alec Hensley to mimic Willis' at-bat, which worked to perfection to score Stephenson on the squeeze.

Simpson grabbed the advantage in the sixth with a pair of runs. Kolton Arnold drove in Held with one out. Arnold later scored in the frame as Stephenson attempted to steal second, but stopped before the tag to get in a rundown to allow his teammate to score.

After two quick outs in the fifth, Luther loaded the bases with a hit and two-straight walks. Held was able to get Owen Vander Linden to ground out to Ryan Willis at second to end the threat.

Held ended with two hits to help himself on the mound.

Game Two: Luther 10, Simpson 5
Simpson plated a run in the first to jump out to a 1-0 lead after Held scored on a Luther error. Held remained hot at the plate to blast a solo shot to right centerfield to increase the tilt to 2-0 in the third. Later in the frame, Stephenson lifted a ball to center to score Josh Breitbarth on a sacrifice fly.

Luther proved why they lead the league in scoring by tallying seven runs in the fourth to grab a 7-3 advantage. The Storm pushed a run across in the fifth, but the hosts responded with one in the sixth to keep the four-run buffer in place.

Breitbarth clubbed an RBI single in the eighth to bring the game to 10-5.

Breitbarth, Luke Willis and Ryan Willis both tallied two hits to pace the offense. Brady Leonard recorded five strikeouts on the mound and Zach Hollingsworth sent down three Luther batters.

Up Next
Simpson closes out its home slate this weekend in a four-game set against Dubuque. The first twinbill will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Friday on McBride Field.