It was a cold afternoon for baseball yesterday and that translated to cold bats for Central College, as they fell to Wartburg in their home opener 7-3.

The Dutch could only muster up five hits in the contest with the Knights’ Dylan Gotto putting on a stellar performance going eight innings of one run ball. The Knights scratched a run across the board in the first and the Dutch found the equalizer in the second with a RBI single by Chris Riddle. Wartburg retook a 2-1 lead in the fifth and got some separation in the seventh with a three run inning. The Dutch rallied for a pair of runs in the ninth headlined by a RBI groundout by Joe Rebik but it was not enough, as the Knights hung on for the win. Nick Long suffered the loss on the bump despite going 6 1/3 innings and giving up five hits and three earned runs.

The Dutch drop to 11-4 overall and 1-3 in American Rivers Conference play while the Knights improve to 6-11 and 3-1 in the league. Both teams clash in a twin bill to close out the series today in Pella.