CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College baseball team secured the 2024 American Rivers Conference regular season title on Friday afternoon, splitting a doubleheader at Luther College, defeating the Norse 13-6 in the opening game before falling 6-3 in game two. The title is Coe's first regular season trophy since the 2021 season and its third in the last five seasons. The offense bashed out 16 hits in the opener, scoring in each of the first five innings for an early 10-2 advantage. The Kohawks hit a pair of homers early on with
Mitchell Eckardt and
Creighton Kreshel getting the offense going.
Caden Richards shook off an early homer and went on to retire a string of 14 consecutive hitters from the end of the first through the start of the sixth. Luther fought back with runs in the eighth and ninth inning but the pen managed to seal the deal for Coe's 17th league win of the year. The hosts secured the split in game two with a solid pitching effort from a duo of arms, holding Coe to nine hits and three earned runs. In total, Coe left seven runners on base including five in scoring position, proving costly in the end.
GAME ONE
COE 13 - LUTHER 6
Game Facts
- Eckardt got the scoring started in the opening at-bat of the game, crushing a 3-2 pitch over the right-field fence for his third homer of the year. Luther answered with its own long ball moments later, taking a 2-1 lead with a two-out, two-run jack. Kreshel continued the trend in the second, delivering his own two-out dinger to drive home Ryan Thoreson on his third of the year. Coe's offense got more for Richards in the third, scoring three runs on five hits and one Luther error. Jake Brosius got the first RBI on a fielder's choice before Thoreson hammered a two-run single to right for a 6-2 advantage. The scoring stretched into the fourth and the fifth for Coe, adding a pair of runs in each inning to take a 10-2 lead. Eckardt drove home an RBI in each frame, doubling in the fourth and singling in the fifth while Austin Gomez picked up the other RBI knock. Coe ended its scoring in the top of the eighth with three runs on three hits, getting back-to-back RBI from Thoreson and Tyce Johnson to make it 12-2. Kreshel wrapped up the scoring with another single, driving home Johnson with an infield hit. Luther had one final push in the last two innings, pulling to within seven of Coe's lead but Michael Bonner came in for the final two outs and nailed down the win.
GAME TWO
LUTHER 6 - COE 3
Game Facts
- Luther got on the board first in game two, scoring a pair of runs with a two-out double in the second inning. The Kohawks immediately responded with two in the top of the third, tying the game with RBI hits from Eckardt and Brosius. The hosts regained the lead in the fourth, scoring three times with four hits including a solo homer. Coe loaded the bases to start the fifth but quickly hit themself out of the inning, grounding into a double play that netted just one run before a frame-ending strikeout. The Norse got one final insurance run in the bottom of the seventh, using back-to-back doubles to extend the lead to 6-3. Coe put pressure on the Norse in the top of the eighth with a pair of leadoff base runners but again Luther worked ou the jam, getting a double play to end the inning.
Up Next: The Kohawks are back in action tomorrow, Saturday, May 4 for the final game of the three-game set, playing the Norse at 1 PM in Decorah.
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