Storm suffer first loss of season

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The winning streak ends at three games for the Simpson baseball team as the squad lost 11-6 to New Jersey City on Tuesday in Florida.

The Storm (3-1) put two runs on the board in the top of the first inning to remain hot at the plate to begin the season. Josh Breitbarth drove in Kolton Arnold with a sacrifice fly and Brandon Urias had a single that scored Truman Schmitt.

The Gothic Knights (2-3) erased the deficit in the bottom half by scoring two runs of their own.

Simpson earned a run each in the third and fourth innings, but gave up three runs during that span. The Storm added another run in the top of the fifth to to tie things at 5-5.

New Jersey City was up to bat in the lower half of the frame and tallied three runs to bridge the gap at 8-5. The team's three runs came on two hits and one error.

The Gothic Knights would tack on three more runs over the next two innings to widen the advantage. Simpson had a comeback effort in the ninth, but could only score one run coming off a Keegan Perez run-scoring single.

Devin Creger paced the team with three hits and a double, while Nathan Carlin recorded two triples. Schmitt remained hot at the plate with another hit today, he is batting .667 to begin his junior campaign.

Zach Hollingsworth made his first appearance on the hill for the Storm in his young career. He went for three innings of work and allowed four runs on four hits. Tom Kunzer was recorded with the loss after tossing two innings and allowing one run.

After a day off tomorrow, Simpson will play Beloit on Thursday at 9 a.m. (CT). The contest is scheduled to be played at the Osceola Heritage Park Stadium.