The Central baseball team wrapped up their Florida spring break trip with a sweep of SUNY – Poly at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitation Friday, and the Dutch softball squad dominated in a pair of wins over Skidmore College and the University of Maine-Presque Isle.

After defeating SUNY – Poly 19-12 on Monday and then opening Friday with a 12-3 win against the Wildcats, the Dutch baseball squad needed a walk-off to complete the sweep. Colton DeRocher’s single in the seventh inning of the doubleheader scored Lucas Farren to give Central the 6-5 win. In the opening game, Central tallied their 12 runs on just nine hits and three Wildcat errors, as they cruised to the easy victory. Declan O’Hare recorded the win in game one, throwing four innings and allowing just one earned run on three hits while striking out three. Sam Staley picked up the three inning save, allowing just two unearned runs. In the back half of the twin bill, the Dutch trailed 3-0 after the second inning but rallied to take a 5-3 lead into the fifth. SUNY – Poly knotted things up in the bottom of the fifth before DeRocher walked it off. Wes Hamor recorded the win after getting the final six outs. 

The Central softball team racked up 31 hits and 25 runs in just nine innings at the plate, as they dominated Skidmore College (N.Y.) 11-1 and the University of Maine-Presque Isle 14-0 in a pair of five-inning contests. The Dutch swiped 12 bases on the day and have 72 stolen bases on the young season. Haley Bach, Megan Stuhr and Megan Doty each had four hits, as Central erupted for six runs in the third inning and five in the fourth against Skidmore. Pitcher Morgan Schaben allowed just one unearned run on two hits in four innings with no walks and a strikeout. Chloe Dougherty finished the game throwing a scoreless fifth inning. The Dutch then made quick work of Maine-Presque Isle with 12 runs in the first three frames. Nineteen Central players saw action in the game. 

With the sweep, the Central baseball team returns to Iowa with a 9-1 record. Dutch baseball returns to the diamond on Friday hosting Buena Vista University. Central softball improved to 8-6 on the year with the sweep, and completes its Florida trip with a doubleheader against the University of Wisconsin-Superior starting at 8 a.m. locally today with both games being broadcast on the KRLS3 stream.