DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Coe College baseball team locked up the two seed in next week's American Rivers Conference postseason tournament with a series-opening victory at Loras, defeating the Duhawks 13-5. Coe started with a run in the first two innings, getting an RBI single from
Eli Elsbecker and an
Austin Gomez solo homer for 2-0.
Brent Yonkovic made it 3-0 before Loras pulled two back on a defensive miscue from the Kohawks and an RBI single in the fifth. Coe's offense exploded for six runs in the sixth, taking advantage of the Duhawk pitchers who had trouble finding the strike zone. Elsbekcer delivered the hammer blow in the inning, driving home three runs with a single for 9-2.
Ryan Thoreson made it 13-2 with a two-run single in the ninth, giving the Kohawks a comfortable cushion for the final three outs.
Xander Cloudy recorded another strong outing on the mound for Coe, allowing one earned run and seven hits en route to his third win of the season. Elsbecker had a career day at the plate, going 4-of-6 with six RBI and one double.
COE 13 - LORAS 5
- Coe got back-to-back one-out singles from Thoreson and Jon Wille, setting the stage for Elsbecker's first RBI of the game. Gomez did damage in the second inning again with one down, blasting his first homer of the year to make it 2-0. Elsbecker helped set the table in the fourth, doubling to start the inning before Louis Smelcer moved him to third with a single. Yonkovic produced a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0, but Loras did well to work out of further trouble with a strikeout and groundout. The Duhawks cut into the lead with a run in the fourth and fifth innings, getting the first on a defensive miscue from the Kohawks and the second with a two-out single. Casey Stecker limited the damage in the fifth and then saw his offense add more runs in the sixth, getting a six-spot to extend the lead to 9-2. Ryan Brosius made it 4-2 with a sacrifice fly before Thoreson and Wille picked up single RBI in back-to-back plate appearances. Elsbecker capped the explosive inning with a bases-clearing single, driving home three runners for 9-2. Coe's third basemen struck again in the top of the eighth, bringing his daily RBI total to six with a two-run single as he plated Jake Mitchell and Thorson. Thoreson polished off Coe's scoring in the ninth, driving home two final runs with a single to right. Loras managed to cut into the lead with three runs on five hits but Brady Alexander escaped any further damage and locked up the victory.
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