Storm collect 19 hits in win over Luther

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson baseball team exploded for a season-high 19 hits and won 11-5 over Luther on Friday to start the last weekend series of the year for the Storm.

In front of the home crowd at McBride Field, five Simpson (13-21, 5-17 A-R-C) batters had two-or-more hits, with Kolton Arnold leading the pack with four. Brady Held had three hits from the leadoff spot.

On the other side of the ball, Brady Leonard turned in a stellar performance on the mound to capture his first career win. Leonard just hit the minimum with five innings of work and allowed one earned run and had four strikeouts.

The Norse (20-18, 13-9 A-R-C) jumped out on top first with one run in the third, but the Storm responded with two in the bottom half. Richie Hintz led off with a single and moved to third after another single from Held. Truman Schmitt ripped a single to plate Hintz and Held scored on a single from Arnold.

In the bottom of the fourth, Simpson pushed three runs across on five hits, with the big blow coming on a two-run single by Schmitt.

Luther battled back and plated three in the sixth to cut the deficit to 5-4. The Norse had the bases loaded with two outs and were able to get a bases-clearing double to make it a game again.

With the momentum turned to the visitors, the Storm took hold of it once again, this time by scoring five in the bottom of the sixth to make it 10-4. Arnold had a two-run single and Nathan Carlin had an RBI triple to plate Arnold. Carlin leads the conference with five triples during his senior campaign.

Both teams added a run in the eighth and that's where the score stayed for the final.

Zach Hollingsworth, Arnold and Schmitt all drove in three runs to pace the offense in their largest scoring output since a 14-2 win over Nebraska Wesleyan on April 2.

On defense, the Storm tallied four double plays, with Devin Creger starting two of them from his spot at third. Carlin started two at shortstop and Hintz displayed quick footwork at second to hurl the ball over to Arnold at first.

Up Next
Both teams return to the diamond to close out the series tomorrow with a doubleheader. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. and the Storm will honor its three seniors in between the games, Nathan Carlin, Devon Veach and Steve Carlson.