Simpson closes regular season with series sweep of Central

PELLA, Iowa -- The early-morning start had no effect on the Simpson College baseball team as it ripped off 24 hits and scored 16 runs to sweep a doubleheader with Central to close out the regular season on Sunday.

In the opener, the Storm (17-21, 14-18 A-R-C) earned a 6-0 victory by holding the Dutch (13-25, 10-22 A-R-C) to only two hits. The finale ended in a 10-2 triumph to help clinch the sixth seed in this year's American Rivers Conference Tournament.

Game One: Simpson 6, Central 0
Trey Castile worked a complete-game effort to give Simpson's bullpen the morning off. He limited Central to just two hits; both singles occurred that in the fourth inning. Castile finished with four strikeouts to earn his third victory.

The Storm capitalized on a Central mistake in the top of the first inning. After two quick outs, Brady Held reached on an error and scored on a Kolton Arnold single through the right side to give the squad a quick 1-0 advantage.

In the fifth, Josh Breitbarth added two more runs with one swing after blasting his sixth homer of the season.

The offense provided Castile some additional insurance in the sixth with three runs by tallying five hits in the frame.

TJ Stephenson collected three hits, and Noah Sacco and Breitbarth both had two to help the team end with 11.

Game Two: Simpson 10, Central 2
The hitting woes continued for the hosts in game two. Despite finishing the contest with six, only two hits occurred through the first seven innings.

A sacrifice fly from Held in the third pushed the Storm to a 1-0 tilt. The Dutch committed their seventh error of the twinbill in the seventh to add another run to Simpson's lead.

Keaton DeKock and Held each doubled to lead a four-run eighth. Central scored a pair in the bottom of the frame for just its fourth and fifth runs of the four-game series.

The Storm reached double-digits on the scoreboard in the ninth. DeKock ripped his third double of the day and Alec Hensley followed with an RBI two-bagger.

After sticking with one pitcher in the first game, Simpson used six in the finale. Zach Hollingsworth struck out three to earn his his first victory of the season. Brent Pendgraft made his second career appearance on the hill for the Storm to toss a scoreless inning.

Up Next
Simpson will take part in the American Rivers Conference Tournament that begins Thursday. Brackets and additional information will be announced when available.