CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -  The Coe College baseball team took a pair of games from Simpson College on Thursday afternoon at Bill Quinby Field. The Kohawks earned a 9-4 in the opener and followed with an 11-8 victory in game two, improving to 20-3 overall and 16-2 in the A-R-C. Coe racked up 11 hits in game one while starting pitcher TJ Johnson earned his seventh win of the year, good for third in Division III baseball. Coe scored six runs in the seventh inning of game two while picking up an additional 10 hits in the contest as starter Tyce Johnson collected his second win of the year with seven solid innings of work. 
 
Five Kohawks had multiple hits in the games as TJ Johnson led the way with five while Riley LeGrand, Jordan Kaplan and Isaac Evans all posted three each. Matthew Schrader joined LeGrand, Evans, Kaplan and Jack Allison all had two-plus RBI on the afternoon as Evans led the Kohawks with three. TJ Johnson picked up both of Coe's extra-base hits in the games, hitting a solo homer in game one and a triple in game two. Kaplan, who came in for a save opportunity in the final inning of the second game, earned his first career save while striking out one batter. 
 
GAME 1 (7 Innings)
COE 9 - SIMPSON 4
Coe opened the scoring in game one, scoring four runs in the bottom of the second inning thanks to three hits. Coe's first three batters reached in the inning thanks to a single, a walk and a hit by pitch setting up Matthew Schrader, who launched a high fly ball to the left-field fence, scoring two on the hit. The Kohawks struck again later in the inning with runners on second and third, as Isaac Evans hit a sacrifice fly to score Creighton Kreshel on the play. Riley LeGrand made it 4-0 with an RBI single through the right side, scoring Schrader. After another scoreless frame for starting pitcher TJ Johnson in the top of the third, Coe added another in the bottom of the fourth as Johnson helped himself with a solo homer to left. Simpson got on the board in the top of the fifth inning thanks to two hits as the Storm used a pair of RBI singles to cut the deficit to three runs. The Kohawks answered in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs to regain control of the game. Kaplan, Johnson and Henry led off the inning with three consecutive singles to load the bases. Kaplan started the scoring, crossing the plate on a balk by the Storm pitcher before an RBI fly-out from pinch-hitter Jack Allison which scored Johnson to make it 7-2. Daniel Hawes ended the scoring in the fifth with another RBI as he singled home Henry for his third of the season. Coe got its final run in the bottom of the sixth inning as Kaplan scored again on a wild pitch to make it 9-2. Simpson scored two runs in the top of the seventh with a pair of RBI singles but Johnson limited the damage en route to his seventh victory of the season. 
 
GAME 2 
COE 11 - SIMPSON 8
The Kohawks opened game two with a run in the first two innings, getting a groundout RBI from Kaplan in the first and a sacrifice fly from Evans in the second. Coe added to its total in the fourth inning, as LeGrand drove in Kreshel with two outs in the inning before James VanHooser scored on a throwing error by the centerfielder. Game two starter Tyce Johnson was in control of the game, working six scoreless innings of two-hit baseball. Simpson got to Johnson in the top of the seventh as the Storm hit a two-run homer to cut the deficit to three through 6 ½. Coe picked up Johnson in the bottom of the frame, scoring six runs on five hits while taking advantage of three Simpson errors. Kaplan and TJ Johnson led off the inning with back-to-back singles as Luke Smailes reached on an error to load the bases. After a fielder's choice which resulted in an out of the plate, Allison singled in another pinch-hit opportunity, scoring TJ Johnson with the hit. Game two catcher, James VanHooser then stepped to the plate against a new Storm pitcher and delivered another RBI for Coe, singling home Smailes to give go Coe an 8-2 lead. In the Kohaws' next AB, Evans picked up his second RBI of the game, recording a single which scored Henry to make it 9-2. After VanHooser scored on a balk, Kaplan drove in Coe's final run of the contest with a sacrifice fly, scoring Evans on the effort. Simpson refused to go away, scoring six runs in the top of the eighth inning to cut the deficit to just three runs heading into the top half of the ninth inning. Head Coach Steve Cook then turned to Kaplan to close the game out as the righty stranded a runner on second en route to his first career save. 
 
Up next: The Kohawks will finish the four-game series with Simpson College on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader at Daniels Park. 
 
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