Dubuque comes back to defeat Storm in A-R-C opener

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Hayden Iacolucci drove in the tying run and Alex Sundling scored on an error with two outs in the ninth as Dubuque handed the Simpson College baseball team an 8-7 loss in Friday afternoon's American Rivers Conference opener.

Going into the final inning, Simpson clung to a narrow 7-6 lead after Keaton DeKock tagged Colton Pfeifer out at home plate and Brett Kauzlarich recorded back-to-back strikeouts to keep the Spartans off the board in the bottom of the eighth. Dubuque kept fighting, though, and managed to load the bases with no outs in the ninth. A groundout evened the score at 7-7 before the Spartans (9-4, 1-0 A-R-C) claimed the walk-off victory on the Storm's third error of the contest.

Chris Miller finished the game with three hits, while Kolton Arnold, Ty Cowley and Brady Held each had two. Arnold drove in a season-high three runs including the first of the game and two more in a third inning that saw Simpson erase a four-run deficit. Held's second double of the game also scored a run in the third as the Storm (8-4, 0-1 A-R-C) tallied four of their nine hits in the frame.

Kauzlarich (2-2) suffered the loss on the hill, allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit and three walks. Held got the start and gave up five runs in six innings while striking out nine.

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The Storm and Spartans will finish their three-game series with a doubleheader on Sunday at noon.