Storm open A-R-C Tournament with 12-3 win over Loras

WAVERLY, Iowa -- Simpson College baseball collected its third-straight double-digit hit performance to power its way to a 12-3 victory over Loras to open the American Rivers Conference Tournament on Thursday.

The sixth-seeded Storm (18-21) tallied 13 hits, including two homers and five doubles to win their first conference tournament game since the 2016 season. The third-seeded Duhawks (22-17) were held to five base knocks.

Simpson's ace, Brady Held, took the ball in the opener and fired off seven-strong innings. He struck out nine batters and sprinkled three hits during the game. Held was dealing right away as the first five outs were recorded via strike out.

The offense came alive in the second frame to give Held a quick 4-0 advantage. Kolton Arnold led the inning off with a single and later scored on a two-run shot from TJ Stephenson. Chris Miller wasted no time with a follow-up homer to put Simpson up 3-0 with back-to-back blasts. Alec Hensley kept the inning going with a double and scored on an RBI single from Noah Sacco.

In the third, Held led off the inning with his second double of the contest. Josh Breitbarth reached on a fielder's choice before the duo scored on an RBI single from Arnold.

Loras tallied its first run of the game with a solo shot to begin the third. Held settled down after the homer to only allow one base runner the rest of his outing; a leadoff single in the sixth.

Simpson plated four runs in the seventh to widen the margin to 10-1. The offense recorded two hits and capitalized on two errors by the Duhawks. Two more runners scored in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Ryan Willis and a single by Held.

Loras prevented the run-rule victory for the Storm by scoring a pair in the eighth to place the game at 12-3. The Duhawks began the ninth with a single, but could not get the rally going to end the threat.

Arnold, Held and Sacco all had three hits and each had a two-bagger. Stephenson recorded his second homer of the season against Loras, while Miller hit his first of his career.

Up Next
Simpson's scheduled game against second-seeded Luther for Thursday night has been postponed until Friday morning at 11 a.m. due to the weather. The game will remain at Wartburg College and links to live video and statistics can be found at SimpsonAthletics.com.