Simpson opens A-R-C Tournament against Loras on Thursday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Simpson | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 1 |
|
Loras | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
INDIANOLA, Iowa -- A four-game weekend sweep against Central propels the Simpson College baseball team into the American Rivers Conference Tournament as this year's sixth seed.
The Storm (17-21) open the tournament with an 11 a.m. showdown with third-seeded Loras (22-16) on Thursday at Wartburg College. The two squads last faced off at the start of April on McBride Field with the visitors leaving town with three wins.
With the conference tournament expanding to nine teams in a double-elimination format this season, the bracket is split into two host sites; Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Wartburg will serve as the hosts. Coe is the top seed after winning its third regular season crown with a 30-5 mark and 26-4 record against A-R-C foes.
Simpson and Central met over the weekend to close out the regular season. The four-game set served as an opportunity for either team to rank sixth through eighth in the conference seedings for the tournament. The Storm outscored the Dutch 22-5 in the series as Central fell to the eighth seed.
The Simpson pitching staff ended the regular season tied for first in the league in shutouts (4), tied for second in batting average against (.269), second overall in strikeouts (247) and fifth in saves (6). At the plate, the Storm belted 18 home runs for second in the league, while 16 came during A-R-C play.
Brady Held led the league in pitching with a 1.29 earned-run average to go along with four victories. His four complete games are tied for third. Brett Kauzlarich has struck out 38 batters to tie for fifth most in the A-R-C while pitching out of Simpson's bullpen. He's hurled 37.2 innings to garner three saves.
Josh Breitbarth showcased his power with six home runs for third most and drove in 21 runners for 11th best in the league. Behind the plate, he threw out 11 would-be base stealers.
Visit SimpsonAthletics.com for links to live video and statistics during the tournament.
To view the complete A-R-C Tournament schedule, click HERE.
