NORTHFIELD, Minn. - The Carleton College baseball team held leads in both games of its Senior Day doubleheader on Sunday but ultimately came up short twice, falling 5-2 and 10-5 to Luther College in non-conference action.
 
"I'm sad to be winding down the season with this senior class, but I'm grateful for every moment we have had together," said Carleton head coach Alec Holcomb. "This group embodies what it means to be a Carleton Knight. Their leadership and work ethic will be missed, but their impact will never be forgotten."
 
Game One - Luther 5, Carleton 2
Sidearming senior righty Sam Zacks started on the bump and faced one more than the minimum over his first three innings. In the bottom of the third, Andrew Sellers led off with a single, stole second, and scored on an error. Cleanup hitter Jordan Appelbaum executed a squeeze bunt to bring home another run, giving Carleton (9-19) a 2-0 edge.
 
The Norse (16-20) got on the board in the fourth, tying the game at 2-2 with three straight hits. In the fifth, they pushed across two more to make it 4-2. Another Luther run crossed in the sixth. Carleton was unable to solve Norse reliever Brody Von Berge, dropping the opener.
 
Zacks threw 4.0 solid frames, allowing four hits and two runs. Rookie Tyler Vandersall absorbed the loss after yielding an earned run over his hitting of work, and senior Zach Gordon gave up a hit and a run over 2.0 innings.
 
Sellers had the lone hit for the Knights as Luther starter Nolan Kocke and reliever Von Berge combined for 11 strikeouts.
 
Game Two - Luther 10, Carleton 5
Luther got a run across in the first, but the Knights responded immediately with a pair in the bottom of the frame. Will Schnepf and Brandon Damelin knocked back-to-back RBI doubles to give Carleton the 2-1 lead. Thanks to a trio of walks, the Norse wrested the lead back with two in the second, and got one more on a wild pitch in the third.
 
Luther intentionally walked Schnepf to load the bases in the fourth, but Damelin made them pay with a two-run single to right. Schnepf then hustled home all the way from second on a wild pitch to make it 5-4 in favor of the hosts.
 
Luther scored six unanswered over the final five innings, getting one in the fifth, three in the sixth, and one each in the eighth and ninth. Carleton went down in order in the final three frames.
 
Damelin concluded at 2-for-3 with three RBI. Carlo Lissuzo had a pair of base hits and scored a run.
 
Seven Carleton hurlers were used in a bullpen game. Senior Ananth Iyer got the starting nod and tossed the opening frame. Jackson Corcoran followed with five strikeouts over his 2.0 innings on the mound. Luke Lawson authored a scoreless inning out of the pen before Xander Stolberg was solved for three runs over his 2.0 innings of work. Jake Stern posted his fifth straight scoreless outing, while Jordan Kramer's first batter faced reached on an error and scored, but he finished his inning without an earned run. Theo Northover made his season debut on the bump with a hitless frame.
 
Luther used four pitchers, including Charles Running who picked up the win despite permitting three runs over 4.0 innings of relief with seven strikeouts.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton concludes its home schedule with a twin bill against Hamline University on Tuesday, April 29. Game one begins at 2:30 p.m.