STORM LAKE, Iowa — The Coe College baseball team split a pair of games with Buena Vista to open a three-game series in Storm Lake, winning 1-0 in the opening game before falling just short in a 9-8 decision in game two. The Kohawks eeked out a victory in the first game of the day, riding the back of
Jack Walsh, who pitched a three-hit, complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts. His offense did just enough against the Beaver pitchers, getting a bases-loaded walk from
Kael Kurtz in the top of the fifth inning. Game two was back-and-forth and full of offense, with the teams combining for 25 hits and 17 runs. The Kohawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the top of the first, but BVU came right back with back-to-back two-run innings to level the game at four. Coe regained the advantage momentarily with a run-scoring single from
Jake Mitchell, but one in the bottom of the third and three in the fourth put the Beavers ahead for good.
Jack Casey plated two Kohawks in the sixth to try and mount a comeback, but Coe could only get one closer with an
Eli Elsbecker solo shot in the ninth.
GAME ONE
COE 1 - BUENA VISTA 0
- The Beavers left a pair of runners on in the bottom of the third, squandering the first true chance of the game. The Kohawks took advantage of a two-out free pass in the fifth, following with back-to-back singles from Luke Schieltz and Ryan Brosius to load the bases. Kurtz drew a walk in the following at-bat, forcing home the game's lone run with two outs. Walsh was dominant for the remaining five innings on the mound, working around a hit in the fifth while going 1, 2, 3 in the final four frames.
GAME TWO
BUENA VISTA 9 - COE 8
- The Kohawks got things started in the first, using an error and a double to put runners on. An RBI groundout from Jon Wille made it 1-0 before back-to-back RBI doubles from Elsbecker and Mitchell pushed the lead to 3-0. Buena Vista quickly cut into the deficit in the bottom of the inning, getting three-straight two-out singles to push two across for 3-2. Casey added one back for Coe in the second, driving home Ryan Brosius with a productive groundout. The Beavers leveled the game in their half of the second, leading off with a single before plating two in back-to-back at-bats. The teams again traded runs in the third as Mitchell drove home Coe's fifth with a single to left before a two-out single for the Beavers made it five all. The hosts took control with three in the fourth and one in the fifth, getting four hits and a defensive miscue from Coe to pad the lead. Casey made it a game in the sixth, singling home two runners with the bases loaded before the Beavers escaped the jam. The Kohawks loaded the bases again in the eighth with two outs but wasted the chance. Elsbecker led the ninth inning off with a solo homer to spark life into the comeback again but after three walks, Buena Vista managed to record a game-ending strikeout to claim the split.
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