Central rebounds for emphatic baseball split
A ninth-inning walk-off win helped the Central College baseball team salvage a split against Nebraska Wesleyan University Friday afternoon. Central (10-18, 7-15 American Rivers Conference) was victorious 8-7 in the second game following a 13-1 loss in the first game of the doubleheader against the Prairie Wolves (10-23, 8-18 conference).
Chris Hensley started the bottom of the ninth with a walk and made his way to third base on a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch. Lucas Farren hit a ball deep in the hole at shortstop and beat the throw to first base to plate Hensley for the game-winning RBI.
Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth, pinch hitter Collin LeFeber hit a single to left field, notching an RBI and plating a second run due to an error. The Dutch would put up four in the inning.
The first three batters in Central’s game two lineup combined for eight hits and four RBI. Left fielder Jared Kampf and catcher Trevor Kimm both had three hits and Farren had two. Kimm drove in three runs.
Kyle Wright picked up the victory on the mound after three innings of solid relief, striking out four. Ryan Riddle started and went the first six innings with seven strikeouts.
The two teams continue their series with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. today. Jon Mohwinkle has the call on 92.1 KRLS with pregame coverage beginning at 12:55.
Dutch women bounced from league tennis tournament
Facing the American Rivers Conference regular season champions on their home courts, the Central College women’s tennis team was defeated 5-0 by Luther College in the league’s tournament semifinals. Central ends its season at 7-5 overall. Luther (11-4) plays in the title match Saturday.
Karleigh Schilling and Alyssa Lewton played the tightest doubles match of the night, falling 8-4 at No. 1. Bronwyn Metcalf and Maddie Hartley lost 8-2 at No. 2 and Alex Griggs and Sarah Schirm lost 8-3 at No. 3. Metcalf lost 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles and Katie Larson was defeated 6-0, 6-1 at No. 5 singles.
The lone senior in Central’s lineup, Schilling played the final match of her career. On the flip side, Central returns five of its singles players and two of its three doubles pairings.