Baseball celebrates Senior Day with sweep of Norse

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson College baseball team celebrated a cold and windy Senior Day with a doubleheader sweep of Luther in American Rivers Conference action. The Storm bats amassed 23 hits on the day and Simpson won 11-3 and 7-2.

The Storm (18-16, 9-11 A-R-C) have now won three in a row, scoring 24 runs on 35 hits during that span. In the last three wins, Simpson's pitching staff tallied 31 strikeouts and held the opposition to a .190 batting average. 

In Saturday's sweep of Luther, Simpson received big performances all-around from their seniors as Keaton DeKock batted .625 with five hits and Kolton Arnold and Luke Willis each recorded four hits while combining for nine of Simpson's 14 RBIs. On the mound, a trio of senior pitchers helped limit the Norse (18-16, 10-10 A-R-C) to a .154 batting average with five runs on 10 hits.

Along with DeKock, Arnold and Willis, Simpson honored Brady Held, Zach Hollingsworth, Brett Kauzlarich, Brady Leonard, Cameron Liston, Colton Major, Chris Miller, Ben Rupe, and Dunston Werner in between games.

Game 1: Simpson 11, Luther 3
The Storm set the tone early and hurried out to a 7-0 lead. Brennen Lemke started the day with a two-run bomb in the first and DeKock scored Matthew Marquez with a single in the third after Simpson plated four runs in the second.

Arnold drove in three of the Storm's final four runs. He brought home Bennett Wadstrom and Ty Cowley with a single in the sixth and helped Simpson regain a seven-run lead with a base-hit in the eighth. He finished the game 2-for-3 with a walk and a career-high four RBIs.

Trey Castile struck out nine and allowed just two hits in another solid start for the Storm. He threw the first six innings before making way for Werner who kept the Norse scoreless with just one hit in the final three frames for the save. Castile's third strikeout of the game helped Simpson officially break the single season record for strikeouts in a season.

DeKock registered three hits while Willis and Wadstrom each added a pair.

Game 2: Simpson 7, Luther 2
The Storm built a 3-1 lead through four innings and added two insurance tallies in each of the sixth and eighth frames. Willis accounted for three of those and scored the final run on an RBI-single from Arnold.

Kauzlarich threw the first six innings, giving up just one run on six hits while striking out eight and walking three. With his sixth win of the season, he moved into a tie for first place in league standings. Hollingsworth struck out five and allowed one run in the final three innings to pick up his fourth save of the season.

Arnold, Cowley, DeKock, Lucas Juhl, and Willis all finished with multiple hits. Wadstrom was 1-for-2 with two walks, an RBI and a run scored.

Up Next
Simpson plays its final game at McBride Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. against the Norse.