CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Jake Brosius belted a two-run walk-off homer in the Coe College baseball team's dramatic 7-5 victory over the University of Dubuque on Saturday afternoon, clinching a doubleheader split and series victory against the visiting Spartans. Coe struggled in game one, seeing the opponents take a 9-1 decision to tie the series at one. Game two was back-and-forth in the middle innings with both teams answering each other's rallies. Brosius delivered the big blast with one out in the bottom of the ninth, smashing his fifth homer of the year over the right-field fence.
Creighton Kreshel, Ryan Thoreson and
Mitchell Eckardt joined Brosius with multi-hit performances, helping the Kohawks reach 11 total knocks in game two. The doubleheader split moves Coe to 13-10 overall and 5-6 in the A-R-C while UD moves to 16-7 and 6-6.
GAME ONE
DUBUQUE 9 - COE 1
Game Facts
- UD took an early lead in the opener, scoring one run with a one-out single in the top of the first. The Spartans added to their lead an inning later, getting a three-run double to take a 4-0 advantage. The visitors scored for the third-straight inning, pushing one run across in the third inning on a Kohawk error. Kaden Haller singled to lead off the bottom of the inning for Coe but was stranded on first after three-consecutive outs.
- Dubuque blew the game open in the top of the fifth, getting three runs on one swing as the Spartans bashed a three-run homer. Coe threatened to put a dent in the lead over the next few frames, getting leadoff runners in the fifth and sixth but some timely pitching kept the Kohawks scoreless.
- The hosts broke through in the bottom of the seventh, getting their lone run on a sacrifice fly from Haller who pushed home Reid Rausch. The Kohawks put two runners on again in the bottom of the eighth but were unable to capitalize, registering the final out with a foul pop. Coe threatened again in the ninth, getting a leadoff single but UD avoided any further damage and locked down the 9-1 victory.
GAME TWO
COE 7 - DUBUQUE 5
Game Facts
- Both teams went scoreless in the opening two and a half innings, each wasting scoring chances in a pair of frames. Coe finally struck in the third, taking advantage of a leadoff single from Thoreson and an error from the Spartans. Gavin Guns drove home the opening RBI of the game, grounding out to short for the 1-0 lead. UD quickly responded, getting its second three-run blast of the day from Brandon Watkins who gave the visitors a quick two-run lead.
- The Kohawks didn't back down, answering with a big inning of their own in the bottom. Two of the first three hitters reached for Coe before a strikeout threatened to end the chance. Thoreson delivered the first RBI of the inning, doubling down the left-field line to score Allison and put two runners in scoring position. Jack Allison tied the game in the next at-bat, scoring from third on a passed ball to make it 3-3. Eckardt picked up the go-ahead RBI in the same AB, smoking a single past the first baseman's glove to put the Kohawks ahead 4-3.
- UD again had an answer for Coe, tying the game in the top of the fifth on a crucial Coe error. The visitors rode the momentum and regained the lead in the seventh, getting a leadoff single before a bit of small ball produced a go-ahead sacrifice fly. The Kohawks pushed back right away, getting two hits and the tying run in the bottom of the inning. Eckardt and Guns reached to start the inning and both moved up a base during the following AB. Reid Rausch tied the game one batter later, reaching on a fielder's choice which saw Coe's runner from third score. The Kohawks saved their best for the final inning of the game, getting a leadoff single from Eckardt before Brosius delivered the all-important two-run homer, giving team the win and the series victory.
Up next: Coe hits the road for its next eight games, beginning with a Bremner Cup battle at Cornell College on Tuesday, April 11 at 5 PM.
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