CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College baseball team secured a series victory with a pair of wins over Central College on Sunday afternoon. The Kohawks pitching staff dominated the two games, allowing just four hits to the Dutch. Game one starter, TJ Deardorff, pitched a complete-game shutout while allowing just one hit and striking out seven. Matthew Mittelmark and Austin Divello combined to hold Central to just two runs on three hits as the pair completed the series sweep for Coe. Riley LeGrand had a great day at the dish, recording five hits, four runs scored, one RBI and one walk in eight plate appearances. The Sunday sweep sees Coe improve to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the A-R-C while Central falls to 3-5 and 1-3 in the league. 
 
After posting just four hits in game one, Coe bounced back with a season-high 13 hits in game two. The Kohawks recorded five extra-base hits on Sunday including four in the second contest. LeGrand, who improved his batting average to .452 overall, was joined by TJ Johnson and Reid Rausch with multiple hits in the games. Rausch, who got the start in game two at first-base tallied three RBI and one double, for his first extra-base hit of the season. Mittelmark, who faced 29 batters in game two, earned his second win of the season while Deardorff picked-up his first win of the campaign.
 
GAME 1 
COE 5 - CENTRAL 0 
After a slow start for both offenses, Coe began the scoring in the top of the third. After James VanHooser led off the inning with a single, Isaac Evans reached on an error to put pressure on the Dutch. Jacob Henry successfully sacrificed himself to move VanHooser and Evans into scoring position. LeGrand then delivered for Coe with a double to left field, scoring VanHooser to give the Kohawks a 1-0 lead. After a scoreless fourth inning, Coe struck again, adding two more runs to its total. Evans walked and stole second to start the inning and later scored on a throwing error by the Dutch catcher. 
 
The Kohawks again took advantage of a Central mistake, as LeGrand scored on a wild pitch to make the score 3-0. Starting pitcher TJ Deardorff continued to cruise, shutting down the Dutch again in the bottom of the fifth, setting the stage for his offense. The Kohawks struck again in the top of the sixth, adding two more to their total thanks to RBIs from Creighton Kreshel and Evans. Deardorff returned to the mound for the sixth and seventh, working back-to-back 1-2-3 innings to lock up the complete game and the victory. 
 
GAME 2 
COE 7 - CENTRAL 2
The Kohawks got on the board from the jump in the second game, using a two-out rally in the first inning to take a 3-0 lead. With two outs, LeGrand singled and scored after Deardorff doubled in the next plate appearance for the Kohawks. TJ Johnson then singled to keep the inning alive and Rausch followed suit with a two-RBI double, scoring TJ Johnson and Deardorff. Coe struck again in the top of the third inning, adding two more to its total. LeGrand led the frame off with a bunt single and moved to third on a wild pitch and sacrifice bunt as TJ Johnson drove him in with a sacrifice fly. The Kohawks scored again with two outs, taking advantage of a Dutch error as Rausch scored to make it 5-0. Game two starter, Matthew Mittelmark was cruising through four innings after Central threatened in the first, retiring the side in the second and fourth frames. The Dutch finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, scoring on an RBI groundout to make it 5-1. Central added one more run before the end of the inning after a Kohawk error but Mittelmark got a ground-out to escape any more damage. Following a scoreless top of the sixth, Coe turned to Austin Divello, who worked a near-perfect eighth and ninth inning, allowing just one hit while clinching the series victory. 
 
Up next: The Kohawks will return to action on Friday, March 26 when they host Nebraska Wesleyan in an A-R-C double-header.
 
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