NORTHFIELD, Minn. – On a very windy afternoon at Mel Taube Field, the Carleton College baseball team split an afternoon doubleheader against College of St. Scholastica. The Knights prevailed 4-3 in the opener but came up short, 5-1, in game two.
"It was great to get back out on 'the Mel',"said Carleton head coach
Aaron Rushing. "Our pitchers did a great job stepping up with a pair of great starts, and it was awesome for us to put away game one the way we did. We did a lot of things well in game two, but we have to tip our caps to St. Scholastica, as they out-executed us in the end. Looking forward to another opportunity to compete tomorrow."
Game 1 Recap
Carleton rookie
Quinn Brannan (Fy./Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) went the distance in registering his first collegiate victory. He allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits with five strikeouts over 7.0 innings on the bump.
St. Scholastica (9-13, 4-6 MIAC) scored twice in the top of the first inning, but Carleton (6-13, 3-4 MIAC) got one of those runs back in the bottom of the frame when
Aaron Rice (Fy./Evergreen, Colo./Colorado Academy) singled and scored on
Sam Schur's (Sr./Calabasas, Calif./Viewpoint) opposite-field base hit.
The Knights collected five singles during a three-run third inning, with
James Sassi (Sr./Stamford, Conn./Brunswick School),
Cayten Gardner (Sr./Claremont, Calif./Claremont),
Jack Hommeyer (Fy./Bronxville, N.Y./Suffield Academy) delivering consecutive two-out RBI hits.
That was enough run support for Brannan (1-1), who yielded a RBI groundout in the sixth inning but retired the final six batters to close out the win.
Rice and Gardner paced the Knights with two hits apiece.
Game 2 Recap
Braden Sebesta (Jr./Spring, Texas/John Cooper School) pitched well but took the loss as the Knights' offense managed only one run on six hits against the Saints' southpaw TJ Martin.
St. Scholastica used a leadoff double in the opening inning to score the game's first run in the first inning, and Carleton notched its tally in the fourth inning when
Paul Hinton (Sr./Omaha, Neb./Millard West) singled and scored on
Jacob Smith's (Sr./McKinleyville, Calif./McKinleyville) two-out base hit.
The visitors moved in front once again via a RBI double by Luke Schemenauer in the top of the fifth.
The score remained 2-1 until the top of the ninth. St. Scholastica rightfielder Jack Harris led off with a double, and the Saints put down four consecutive bunts—two base hits and two sacrifices—paving the way for a three-run frame.
Sebesta yielded two runs on six hits over 6.0 innings. Martin fanned eight and did not walk a batter while scattering six hits over 8.0 innings.
Hinton and Smith had two-hit games to lead the Knights.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton's homestand continues as the team hosts Macalester for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Sunday, April 24.
