Promising Start Fades in Dutch Baseball Defeat

Everything went right to start for the Central College baseball team in Friday’s game against the University of Dubuque but the momentum faded in a 12-4 loss.

In the first inning, starting pitcher Declan O’Hare retired all three batters he faced to start with a scoreless frame. Central (9-16, 3-7 American Rivers Conference) responded with two hits in the bottom half of the inning before a dropped infield fly allowed the Dutch to score the first run of the contest. The Spartans offense answered by scoring at least one run in each of the next six innings. O’Hare struck out six but allowed five earned runs on six hits and three walks over 5.0 innings. Central used a trio of relievers to close out the last four innings, highlighted by two scoreless innings from junior Wes Hamor, who recorded a pair of strikeouts. Colton DeRocher added two more home runs to his quest to be Central’s all-time home run leader. He’s now at six on the season and 22 for his career. Rick Hassman set the program standard at 24 from 1986-1989. Starting catcher Dom DeLaPaz was also responsible for three of Central’s hits, including a double in the fifth inning.

The Dutch and Spartans are back in action with a doubleheader today beginning at 1 pm, and both games can be heard live on 92.1 KRLS.

Augustana Takes Down Central Women’s Tennis Squad

The Central College women’s tennis team couldn’t keep pace with Augustana College (Ill.) Friday night in a 6-3 loss.

The Dutch dropped to 9-10 on the season while the Vikings improved to 9-11. Jenna Mitsuko Mahoney won both of her matches, starting with an 8-4 No. 2 doubles win with Becca Vala, before adding a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles. The other winner for Central was Lauren Gano, who was a 6-3, 6-4 victor at No. 6 singles.

Central hosts NCAA Division II Truman State University (Mo.) for the regular season finale at 4 pm on Wednesday.