MOUNT VERNON – The offense for the Central College baseball team was unable to keep pace with Cornell in a 19-9 run-rule shortened game Sunday afternoon. Central’s (2-4) offense came to life in the fourth inning with eight runs. Five of the first six batters reached via walk or a Cornell (2-1) error. Catcher Dom DeLaPaz’s (junior, Davenport, West HS) three-run home run put the Dutch in front 7-6 and a two-run Dylan Williams (sophomore, third baseman, Bountiful, Utah, Woods Cross HS) single extended the lead to 9-6.
“That fourth inning was fun,” coach Adam Carey said. “There were a lot of selfless at-bats to start the inning. Those were huge hits by Dom and Dylan. We scored six runs with two outs.” Another big day for Colton DeRocher (Sioux City, East HS) saw the senior center fielder go 3-for-4 with an RBI ground out in the fourth. DeRocher, shortstop Logan McCoy (senior, Galva, Alta-Aurelia HS) and right fielder Caleb Douglass (junior, Windsor, Colo.) all had doubles.
“Our offense is doing some good stuff,” Carey said. “They’re finding a way to be competitive in at-bats. Those guys are going a great job of attacking the pitches they know they can hammer and are being disciplined about the pitches they can’t.” A defense that was stretched thin due to early-season injuries was tested even more with adverse wind conditions. Five of the six errors were committed by players who made their first collegiate appearances in those positions this weekend.
“I’m excited for us to get healthy,” Carey said. “We had some guys get put in a tough spot. Errors are obviously something we need to work and clean up, but they kept working and will get better.”
Reliever Parker Jones (senior, Verona, Wis., Verona Area HS) was tagged with his second loss of the season. He yielded six runs after giving up four hits and two walks in 1.1 innings of work. Max Steinlage (sophomore, Cedar Falls) struck out four but also walked four and gave up six runs in 3.0 innings. Wes Hamor (junior, Tama, East Marshall HS) tossed the final 2.0 innings and allowed seven Ram runners to score.
“Cornell was really disciplined in the box,” Carey said. “They stuck to what they do well, and we did not execute our pitches well enough. We left some pitches up in the zone and they took advantage.”
The Dutch travel to Florida next week to play seven games at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. Central’s trip opens Sunday with a seven-inning doubleheader against Springfield College (Mass.) at 3:45 p.m. (EDT)
