Baseball wins third consecutive series, splits with Dutch on Senior Day

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson College baseball team secured its third consecutive American Rivers Conference series win with a 5-3 victory in Saturday's opener against Central.

The Storm (15-18, 8-10 A-R-C) outhit the Dutch 12-6 and had another strong performance from their pitching staff as Easton Dunwoody picked up his fourth win and Eli Feekin earned the save. Sam Porter was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

The Dutch (12-19, 6-10 A-R-C) edged the Storm 2-1 in the final game of the weekend. Feekin had another solid relief appearance which included nine consecutive strikeouts, but Simpson's bats went quiet.

The team honored a group of five seniors - Wyatt Clark, Zach Fuller, Sam Porter, Joel Sampson, and Zach Wemhoff - for their time spent with the program in between games.

GAME ONE BREAKDOWN

• After a couple of singles by Drew Carlson and Zach Fuller and a sacrifice bunt by Joel Sampson, Simpson scored on a passed ball and dropped third strike which allowed Fuller to come home from third.
• The two teams traded a pair of runs in the third inning. Williams doubled in a run and scored on a wild pitch for the Dutch, while Sam Porter and Nate Cagley hit back-to-back doubles to restore the two-run lead.
• The Storm added an insurance run in the seventh thanks to a sacrifice fly by Cagley.
• Central scored on a Colton DeRocher single in the eighth and brought the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs, but Eli Feekin came in and got Simpson out of the inning with no further damage.
• Feekin surrendered a two-out walk in the ninth but the runner was left stranded as Ian Baldwin made the final out in centerfield.

GAME ONE LEADERS

• Sam Porter: 3-for-4, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 run
• Nate Cagley: 1-for-3, 1 double, 2 RBI
• Drew Carlson: 2-for-4, 1 run
• Zach Fuller: 2-for-4, 1 run
• Ian Baldwin: 2-for-4, 1 run
• Easton Dunwoody: 7.2 IP, 3 runs, 6 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
• Eli Feekin: 1.1 IP, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, save

GAME TWO BREAKDOWN

• Central was the first to score in the final game of the weekend as Logan McCoy came home on a bases-loaded RBI groundout by starting pitcher Max Steinlage.
• McCoy used his second single of the game to drive in what ended up being the game-winning run in the fourth inning.
• The Storm responded with one run in the home half of the fourth. Drew Carlson doubled to right field and Zach Fuller drew a two-out walk to put two runners on. Joel Sampson skimmed a hit down the left field line which scored Carlson from second, but Simpson was unable to build on the momentum as Central caught Fuller going to third on the play.
• Simpson's defense and pitching staff did everything to keep the Storm in the game from there as the Dutch stranded five between the fifth and sixth and were completely shut down by Eli Feekin, who struck out nine consecutive batters down the stretch.
• Simpson had opportunities to tie the game in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings but could not convert.

GAME TWO LEADERS

• Eli Feekin: 3.2 IP, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts
• Joel Sampson: 1-for-3, 1 walk, 1 RBI
• Drew Carlson: 1-for-4, 1 double, 1 run

UP NEXT
Simpson goes back on the road for the first time since April 6 to face Coe. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, April 26 at 2 p.m. followed by a 1 p.m. single game on Sunday, April 28.