CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The Coe College baseball team secured a series victory Saturday in an American Rivers Conference doubleheader against Wartburg, dropping the opening game 12-11 before bouncing back with a 12-11 decision in game two. Coe jumped out to an early lead in the first of the day, scoring four runs in the first two innings before Wartburg responded with five unanswered.
Brent Yonkovic tied the game with his first of two homers before a run-scoring double from
Jack Casey made it 6-5. The Knights answered with three homers in the following two innings, getting a pair of two-run blasts and a three-run bomb to lead 12-6 in the eighth.
Eli Elsbecker, Jake Mitchell, Yonkovic, and
Will Hosch did their best to pull off a dramatic comeback in the ninth, but the Knights slammed the door with the tying run at second. Wartburg raced out to a five-run advantage in the first inning of game two, getting three straight hits to set the tone. The Knights extended the lead to 7-0 in the top of the second before Coe's first run in the bottom of the inning. Coe used its own big inning later in the game, scoring seven times in the bottom of the sixth to flip the score to 10-8 Kohawks. A two-run single for Mitchell started the inning before additional two-run hits from
Louis Smelcer and
Ryan Brosius. Smelcer delivered a game-tying double later in the frame for 8-8 before Brosius drove home two of his own with a single through the middle. The Knights took the lead again in the top of the eighth, putting three on the board with the go-ahead run coming on a wild pitch. Coe struck in the ninth to end the drama, getting a leadoff triple from Brosius before a pair of Knight miscues allowed the tying and winning run to cross home.
GAME ONE
WARTBURG 12 - COE 11
- RBI from Wille, Brosius and Casey started the scoring for Coe in game one, giving a solid lead to Landon Moore. Wartburg got three back in the third and chased Coe's starter, pulling within one early on. The Knights went ahead in the sixth, getting a two-out, two-run single for the 5-4 lead. The back-and-forth continued with a leadoff homer from Yonkovic and a run-scoring double from Casey in the sixth. Wartburg blasted a pair of homers in the top of the seventh, scoring four runs before Coe recorded an out. A three-run jack extended the lead in the eighth as the Knights pushed their advantage to 12-6. Elsbeckered blasted a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth, trying to kickstart a comeback for Coe. Mitchell and Yonkovic followed suit in the ninth, pulling Coe within one at 12-10 before a run-scoring double from Hosch made it a one-run game. The Knights finished off the win with the tying run at second, clinching the victory with a game-ending flyout.
GAME TWO
COE 12 - WARTBURG 11
- Seven runs across the opening two innings gave all the momentum to Wartburg in game two. The Kohawks chipped away with one in the second with a double from Casey followed by a two-run single from Smelcer in the third. The Kohawks exploded in the sixth, getting a two-run single from Mtchell to start the party. An error allowed Coe to make it an 8-6 margin before another clutch hit from Smelcer as the freshman drove home two with a double to left. Brosius capped off the inning with a single through the middle, driving home a pair of runs to make it 10-8. Wartburg got a solo homer to start the scoring in the eighth before a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch gave the visitors two more for an 11-10 lead. Brosius tripled to start the ninth and was joined on base by Casey who was hit by a pitch. A double steal attempt allowed Brosius to scamper home to tie the game while Casey advanced all the way to third. Two batters later, Casey came home, dashing across the plate for the winning run on a wild pitch.
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