CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College baseball team fell 4-2 to Luther College in the American Rivers Conference Championship game on Sunday afternoon. The Norse took an early 2-0 lead in the third inning and pitched their way out of numerous run-scoring chances en route to the conference title. The Kohawks end the year at 36-7 overall and 28-4 in the league while Luther moves to 31-14 and 23-9 in the A-R-C.
GAME 1
LUTHER 4 - COE 2
TJ Johnson got the start in the championship game, working around a two-out walk to toss a scoreless first. The Kohawks got a one-out base runner thanks to a single from Johnson but a fielder's choice groundout ended the opening inning. The Norse picked up a one-out hit in the top of the second and put the runner on second but Johnson got a fly out to end the top of the frame. Coe threatened to start the home half of the second as
Jacob Henry singled with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch. Following a groundout that moved Henry to third, the Norse recorded the final out thanks to an excellent play from their shortstop on a ball in the hole.
Luther took the lead in the top of the third inning, scoring two runs on three hits while leaving a runner on second. The Norse led off with a double and a single to get runners at second and third before an RBI groundout gave them a 1-0 lead. Luther then made it 2-0 on a sacrifice fly to center field as Cullen Stamp scored on the play.
Isaac Evans singled with one out in the bottom of the third but back-to-back outs for the Norse secured the shutdown inning. The Norse went in order in the top of the fourth inning giving the Kohawks another chance at the plate.
Jordan Kaplan reached to lead off the inning on a fielding error by the Norse pitcher but a double play in Coe's next at-bat killed the rally.
TJ Deardorff came in to pitch in the top of the fifth inning and surrendered a leadoff single but he pitched around the jam to keep the Kohawks close.
After a 1-2-3 inning at the plate for Coe, Deardorff returned for the sixth and worked around a two-out double to send the game to the bottom of the sixth.
Riley LeGrand doubled down the left-field line with one out in the frame and moved to third on a groundout before coming home on an RBI single from Kaplan which cut the deficit to one. Deardorff singled to keep the inning going, moving Kaplan to second but a bases-loaded ground ball got the Norse out of the jam.
Luther responded immediately in the top of the seventh inning, getting two insurance runs thanks to two hits and one Kohawk error. The Norse got a leadoff home run to make it 3-1 and later made it 4-1 on a throwing error by Coe. The Kohawks lead-off hitter
Matthew Schrader walked to start the inning and was pinch-run for by
Grant Riggan. Riggan then moved to third on a ground-rule double by Evans but back-to-back strikeouts ended the at-bat for Coe.
Austin Divello entered the game in relief in the top of the eighth and surrendered a lead-off single but got two of the next two hitters as the Norse had runners on the corners. Coach Cook then turned to Kaplan who came in and issued a walk before getting a strikeout to retire the side. Kaplan doubled to start the home half of the eighth and was followed by Deardorff who walked. The Norse then got back-to-back outs as the runners advanced to second and third on a ground ball. Kaplan scored in Coe's next at-bat as he scampered home on a passed ball which drew the Kohawks within two runs. Luther, which was looking for insurance in the top of the ninth went 1-2-3 in the frame to give Coe one last chance.
Jack Allison led the inning off with a walk and was pinch-run for by
Nolan Cavanaugh. Evans, who was Coe's next batter, laced a ball to the outfield but the Norse center fielder tracked it down for the first out. Cavanaugh advanced 90 feet in Coe's next plate appearance but another hard liner from LeGrand found a Luther glove for the second out. Johnson then hit a grounder to the left-side hole and beat out the throw to bring the winning run to the plate but a soft liner from Kaplan ended the game.
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