CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College baseball team picked up their fifth-straight win in dominant fashion on Friday afternoon at Daniels Park, defeating Nebraska Wesleyan 8-1 in the series-opening game. Coe took an early lead in the first inning and were led initially by
Ethan O'Donnell who kept the visiting Prairie Wolves scoreless through three innings. NWU tied the game in the fourth but the Kohawks got one in the fifth and two in the sixth to regain a solid lead for O'Donnell.
Kevin Lamb broke the game open for the Kohawks in what ended up being their final offensive inning, delivering a pinch-hit grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to give Coe an 8-1 advantage. O'Donnell earned his fourth win of the season with the bullpen doing its job as
Jacob Schmit and
Michael Bonner pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings to secure the result. With the victory, Coe improves to 18-14 on the year and 10-9 in the A-R-C while Nebraska Wesleyan drops to 13-22 and 4-15 in the league.
COE 8 - NWU 1
Game Facts
- Coe got the perfect start in the opener against NWU's top starter, getting one run on two hits in the first inning. Jack Allison and Jake Brosius each recorded one-out hits to put runners on the corners for Creighton Kreshel who put the ball in play and earned an RBI on an error from the defense. NWU and Coe were quiet over the next few innings but the visitors tied the game in the fourth. The Prairie Wolves got two doubles in the inning and tied the game at one with a clutch two-out hit.
- The Kohawks regained the lead just an inning later, getting one run on two hits to give O'Donnell an advantage. Mitchell Eckardt walked with one out before Allison's second single of the game put runners on the corners. Brosius picked up his 26th RBI of the year one batter later, singling home Eckardt to put Coe ahead 2-1.
- The hosts added insurance runs in the sixth, getting two runs on three hits to take a three-run lead. Tyce Johnson doubled with one out and moved to third on a flyout. Kaden Haller gave Coe its third run of the game in the next plate appearance, driving home Johnson with a single through the left side. Haller scored the fourth run for Coe later in the inning, scampering home after a defensive miscue from NWU.
- The biggest blast of the game came in the bottom of the eighth as Lamb was called in to hit for Coe with the bases juiced. The Mesa native made no mistake on a full-count pitch, blasting his first homer of the season to give his team an 8-1 advantage. Bonner entered the game for Schmit in the top of the ninth and quickly locked down the victory, working around a one-out single for the win.
Up next: Coe returns to Daniels Park and Bill Quinby Field tomorrow for the final two games of the three-game set, taking on NWU at 1 PM in an A-R-C doubleheader.
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