NORTHFIELD, Minn. –
Blake Anderson (Sr./Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria) went the distance with seven strikeouts in the game one victory as the Carleton College baseball team swept Hamline University on Sunday afternoon, 14-2 and 9-8.
"It was great to finish a tough MIAC regular season with a couple nice wins," said Carleton head coach
Aaron Rushing. "We had outstanding performances across the board offensively and a stellar pitching performance by Blake in game one.
"I've got to really tip my cap to the guys on the team. They've stayed focused and positive, and we're playing our best ball of the season. Hopefully this gives us momentum heading into our two non-conference games this week and the three-game set with a tough Gustavus team next weekend."
GAME 1 RECAP
The Knights (6-19, 4-19 MIAC) pounded out a season-high 19 hits, including seven doubles and three triples en route to their second-highest scoring output of the campaign. Carleton scored in each turn at bat except the second inning.
Seven Knights had multiple hits in the contest, led by three-hit performances for
Travis Brown (Sr./St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) and
Jacob Small (Jr./Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley). Brown, Small, and
Vince Cone (Jr./New York, N.Y./Trinity School NYC) contributed two RBI apiece, while
Paul Hinton (Jr./Omaha, Neb./Millard West) knocked home a game-high three runs.
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the third inning, Brown tripled and scored on Small's single to center. Hinton's sacrifice fly later in the frame plated
Sam Schur (Jr./Calabasas, Calif./Viewpoint) with the go-ahead run.
The Knights seized control of the contest with six runs in the fourth inning, a stanza that included RBI hits from
James Sassi (Jr./Stamford, Conn./Brunswick School), Schur, Hinton, and
Cayten Gardner (Jr./Claremont, Calif./Claremont).
A passed ball plated another Carleton run in the fifth, and the sixth inning included the final four runs via run-scoring plays off the bats of one, Brown, and Small.
Meanwhile, Anderson shook off a two-run home run by Mac Enlow in the third inning and kept the Pipers (11-23, 6-15 MIAC) off the scoreboard the rest of the game and improved to 2-2 on the season. The seven strikeouts were a career high.
GAME 2 RECAP
The nightcap saw both squads score in five of their turns at bat.
Jacob Smith (Jr./McKinleyville, Calif./McKinleyville) had an RBI double and Cone contributed a run-scoring single as the Knights plated three runs in the bottom of the first.
Hamline scored its first run in the top of the second, but Carleton got that tally back in the third inning when Smith singled home Schur.
The Pipers plated another run in the fourth, but the Knights again responded, this time via Small's two-run hit to center field to make the score 6-2.
The visitors closed the gap with a trio of two-out runs in the sixth inning, but the home half of the frame saw Small score on Schur's double to left center to give Carleton a 7-5 advantage.
Hamline plated two runs in the top of the seventh, but the Carleton defense got a key double play to limit the damage. In the bottom of the inning, Carleton had two outs and no one aboard before
Steve Antrim (Fy./Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) ignited what became the game-winning rally with a single to right field. Brown followed with an infield hit. A throwing error loaded the bases, and Schur delivered the key two-run single to center.
Those tallies proved vital when Hamline plated a run in the ninth before
Ben Jeweler (So./Seattle, Wash./Garfield) registered his first save of the season.
Schurr finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI. Smith and Cone added two-hits each.
Ben Steel (Fy./Washington, D.C./Sidwell Friends School) picked up the win in relief.
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS
Carleton hosts non-conference nine-inning games against Crown College and Saint Mary's University on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The Knights will then face No. 2 seed Gustavus Adolphus College in a best-of-three MIAC Playoffs qualifier series next weekend.
