Baseball falls twice to Buena Vista

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Despite racking up 17 hits and nine doubles in game one, the Simpson College baseball team fell twice in its American Rivers Conference doubleheader against Buena Vista, which moved into first place in league standings with the wins. The Storm suffered a heartbreaking 10-9 loss in the opener and couldn't slow the Beaver's offense in game two, falling 14-4 in seven innings.

After struggling offensively in the series opener on Friday, Kolton Arnold exploded for five hits, three RBIs and two runs scored in game one. He started the day with three straight doubles and later broke the program record for doubles in a game with his fourth two-bagger, which also happened to be his 150th career hit at Simpson. The fifth-year senior added another double in the nightcap, propelling him to the top of the A-R-C leaderboard with 16.

Game 1: Buena Vista 10, Simpson 9
Arnold and Luke Willis hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game at 2-all in the first and the Storm (11-12, 2-7 A-R-C) took a 4-2 lead one inning later thanks to Arnold's second double of the game. After a scoreless third, Buena Vista (15-8, 7-2 A-R-C) scored seven unanswered fueled by six runs on six hits in the fifth.

Simpson came all the way back to tie the game with a big inning of its own, scoring five runs on five hits highlighted by doubles from Bennett Wadstrom, Kaleb Bauer and Willis. The Storm strung together four hits with one out and pulled within one following two wild pitches and a Willis double to left. The game was tied when Keaton DeKock was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Beavers went back out in front in the seventh as they took advantage of a walk when Evan Taylor doubled to left center. Simpson left the tying run at third in the home half, and the Beavers orchestrated two double plays between the final two innings to hang on and win their second one-run game of the series. 

The Storm amassed 17 hits as a unit including a program-record nine doubles. Arnold hit four to break the individual single-game record and Willis registered his first career game with multiple doubles. Brady Held chipped in three hits to go with three runs scored and an RBI, and Bauer was 4-for-5 while scoring twice and driving in another.

Game 2: Buena Vista 14, Simpson 4 (7 innings)
The Beavers used the momentum from game one to jump on the Storm early, scoring eight runs in the first inning. Simpson pulled within five twice but couldn't get any closer before the visitors secured the run-rule victory with another big scoring output in the seventh.

Chris Miller hit his third home run of the season, DeKock drove in two with a single, and Brennen Lemke reached safely for the 15th consecutive game when he singled to right in the bottom of the fourth.

Up Next
The Storm will look to get back on track Tuesday when they head to Central for a 3 p.m. league contest.