CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College baseball team completed the series sweep over Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon at Bill Quinby Field, defeating the visiting Prairie Wolves 11-0 in game one and 9-8 in game two. Coe, which reached the 20-win mark for the sixth time in seven seasons, got a well-rounded effort throughout the sweep.
Matthew Chapman dazzled on the mound in game one, allowing just one hit on a leadoff single in the first inning. The freshman earned his fifth win of the year, allowing two walks while striking out four Prairie Wolf hitters. Coe's offense backed up the excellent start from Chapman, racking up 13 hits en route to the seven-inning victory.
Kaden Haller led the team with four RBI and hit the second home run of his freshman season to begin the scoring in the third.
Jake Brosius also had three RBI in the opening game, registering two hits along the way. The Kohawks were tested in game two by an energetic NWU squad that scored three runs in the first two innings. Coe would erase a 7-3 deficit in the seventh inning, getting an RBI single from Brosius before a game-tying three-run blast from
Creighton Kreshel. Coe added two more runs before the end of the seventh and later turned it over to senior
Jacob Schmit who recorded his first save with a pair of punch outs. Coe, which honored its 2023 senior class of Schmit,
Nico Catan, Cody Deardorff and
Tyler Elliott before game two, improves to 20-14 overall and 12-9 in the A-R-C while NWU drops to 13-24 and 4-17 in the league.
GAME ONE
COE 11 - NWU 0 (7 INNINGS)
Game Facts
- Coe got the party started in the third inning, getting four runs on six hits. Reid Rausch led off with a single and immediately scored on Haller's two-run shot. James VanHooser and Mitchell Eckardt restarted the inning with back-to-back singles before Jack Allison loaded the bases with a bunt. Brosius singled through the left side in the next at-bat, plating VanHooser to make it 3-0. Tyce Johnson picked up the final RBI of the inning, drawing a bases-loaded walk to push the lead to four. Brosius added another RBI in the fourth, delivering a bunt-single with two outs, allowing VanHooser to score from third.
- Coe exploded for six more runs in the bottom of the fifth, getting five hits along the way. Johnson and Rausch reached with one out before Haller struck again, driving a two-run double to center to give his team a 7-0 lead. Eckardt picked up two more RBI two batters later, doubling to left to push home VanHooser and Haller to increase the lead to double-digits. Kreshel gave Coe its final run of the game with another RBI hit, singling through the right side to plate Allison. Chapman dominated the final two innings on the mound, retiring six-straight hitters including two strikeouts to end the game.
GAME TWO
COE 9 - NWU 8
Game Facts
- NWU had a strong start to game two, getting one run in the opening inning after back-to-back free passes to start the game. The Prairie Wolves began the scoring later in the frame, driving home one run on a sacrifice fly. Coe also started well, getting three hits and one run in the bottom of the inning. Eckardt and Allison led off with a single but a double play put Coe's scoring chances in danger. Kreshel came up clutch for Coe with two down, singling in the next at-bat to score Eckardt and tie the game at one.
- The Prairie Wolves continued their solid beginning in the second, adding two more runs on two hits and one Coe error. NWU got a pair of one-out singles and then loaded the bases with a walk. The first run came in to score on a sacrifice fly before the Prairie Wolves added their third run on an error from the Kohawks. The visitors added another insurance run in the fifth, getting another sacrifice fly to push their lead to 4-1.
- Coe quickly responded in the fifth and got back into the game, scoring two runs on three hits. VanHooser and Eckardt led off the inning with singles and quickly moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt from Allison. Brosius cut into the lead one hitter later, chopping a single over the first basemen's head to score both runners. Coe had a chance to add more to the inning but NWU escaped the jam with a double-play lineout, doubling off the Kohawks after a liner to the wall.
- NWU regained a multi-run lead in the seventh, getting three runs on one hit to go ahead 7-3. The opening two runs scored on two wild pitches from Coe before another sacrifice fly gave NWU its third run of the frame. The Kohawks showed no signs of a letdown despite their largest deficit of the game, getting three straight base runners to start the seventh. Brosius capped off the start with an RBI single and forced a pitching change from the visitors. Kreshel wasted no time in the next at-bat, smashing a game-tying three-run bomb over the left-field fence to make it 7-7. Haller added his lone hit of game two later in the inning, delivering the go-ahead RBI on a single up the middle. VanHooser gave Coe something breathing room in the next plate appearance, singling home Kevin Lamb who reached earlier with his fourth hit of the game.
- NWU threatened in the eighth, getting runners on first and second with two outs but Drew Osterman worked around the jam with an inning-ending strikeout. Schmit entered the game with one out in the ninth and runners on second and third. After surrendering a one-run single Schmit buckled down and recorded back-to-back strikeouts, earning the first save of his Coe career.
Up next: Coe returns to action one final time in the 2023 regular season, taking on Loras College in Dubuque on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6.
#KohawkNation
Visit https://kohawkathletics.com/ for complete coverage of Coe College Athletics
Like Coe College Athletics on Facebook
Follow @CoeAthletics on Twitter
Follow @CoeAthletics on Instagram
