CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College baseball team secured victories in both games over the University of Dubuque on Saturday, winning the overall four-game American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) series, 3-1. Coe downed UD 5-2 in the opener before notching a dramatic come-from-behind 10-9 win in 15 innings in game two. 
 
GAME 1 (7 INNINGS)
COE 5 - DUBUQUE 2
The Kohawks got on the board in the bottom of the first inning, scoring two runs on one hit while taking advantage of a Dubuque error. Evans led the frame off getting hit by a pitch and moved over to second on a fielder's choice. TJ Johnson then singled to left as Evans moved to third but an error from the left fielder saw Evans score the opening run. During the next at-bat, Coe used a first-and-third play to score the second run as LeGrand was thrown out at second allowing TJ Johnson to score. 
 
TJ Deardorff was in control on the mound, working 1-2-3 innings in the opening three frames as his offense added a tally in the second and third. Matthew Schrader singled home Coe's third run of the game in the bottom of the second, scoring Jared White while TJ Johnson scored on another error in the bottom of the third. Dubuque got on the board in the top of the fifth inning, as it scored a pair of runs from a Kohawk error to cut the deficit to two. 
 
Tyler Elliott got a key insurance run for Coe in the bottom of the sixth as he drove in Creighton Kreshel with a single through the left side. Deardorff then returned to the bump for the final inning of the game as he worked a 1-2-3 frame to lock up his sixth victory of the season. 
 
GAME 2 
COE 10 - DUBUQUE 9 (15 INNINGS)
Coe opened the scoring in game two with a solo homer from Johnson in the bottom of the first. Dubuque answered back with a solo shot in the top of the second to even the score at 1-1. The back-and-forth affair continued for the Kohawks and Spartans as Elliott singled home White in in the home half of the second before a Dubuque RBI single evened the score at 2-2 after three innings. 
 
The Kohawks took the first sizable advantage in the game with two runs in the fifth, propelled by a Daniel Hawes RBI double and an Evans RBI bunt single. Coe was able to keep that lead until the eighth, but UD used a homer and sacrifice fly to tie it up, 4-4. 
 
Both sides were blanked for three straight innings from the ninth through the eleventh, setting the stage for a dramatic 12th frame. Dubuque plated five in the top half of the 12th, using a few timely hits to put the Spartans ahead 9-4. Coe didn't go quietly, however, as Evans roped a leadoff double before Schrader's infield single brought Evans home. LeGrand and Johnson got on base to join Evans before Jordan Kaplan launched a game-tying grand slam over the center field fence. 
 
After the wild 12th inning, both sides' bats went cold again for the 13th and 14th frames. In the bottom of the 15th, a one-out single from Evans set the table for the Kohawks. A wild pitch moved Evans to second during Schrader's at-bat. With the runner in scoring position, Schrader hit a bouncing ball to shortstop that found its way into the outfield grass, securing the 10-9 win for Coe in walk-off fashion. Donnie Jestel earned his first career win, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings in relief. 
 
The Kohawks sent a total of nine pitchers to the bump in the game. The 15-inning game is the longest game for Coe since a 12-inning tilt on Friday, May 24, 2019 vs. Birmingham-Southern.
 
Up next: Coe will return to the diamond on Thursday May 6 when the Kohawks host Wartburg for the opening two games of a four-game series with the Knights. 
 
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