INDIANOLA — The Central College baseball team earned a split with Simpson College in a doubleheader Saturday afternoon, winning game one 10-3 before dropping game two 4-3.

Central (20-20 overall, 12-12 Iowa Conference) exploded in the opener scoring runs in the first three innings to jump out to a 7-1 start. The Dutch added a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh.

"We hit the ball pretty well all the way up-and-down the lineup in the opener," said coach Matt Schirm.

Senior first baseman Michael Reuter (Monticello) went 3-for-6 in the opener, including a double, scoring two runs and driving in a run, senior second baseman Noah Stochl (New Hampton) had three hits including a double and drove in a pair of runs and senior third baseman Zach Brown (Cedar Rapids, Xavier HS) went 2-for-6, including a solo home run in the sixth inning.

"Noah has been a little frustrated of late and has really worked hard, it was nice to see him break out today," said Schirm.

Sophomore pitcher Charlie Palmer (Chariton) earned his fifth win of the season, throwing 3.1 innings, scattering six hits, allowing one run and striking out four.

Simpson (7-29 overall, 4-20 Iowa Conference) won game two on a walk-off sac fly to left field off of freshman pitcher Tanner Wood (Pella). Wood threw 1.2 innings, giving up two hits and the lone run.

Sophomore Billy Coppage (West Point, Fort Madison HS) started game two, throwing six innings, allowing three hits, surrendering two runs, one earned run and striking out three Storm batters.

"Our pitching was really sharp today," said Schirm. "They were all in the strike zone. Charlie gave up some hits but minimized the damage and Billy did a great job and kept them off balance."

Stochl continued to swing the bat well, going 3-for-4 with a double in game two, junior designated hitter Michael Collins (Ottumwa) went 2-for-3 with a home run and senior outfielder Seth Griffiths (Ottumwa) went 2-for-4 and stole two bases. Griffiths now has 31 stolen bags on the season.

"Michael hasn't gotten many opportunities lately but we plugged him into the DH spot today and he came up big with two hits including his home run which gave us the lead," said Schirm. "It was good to see a different guy step up today."

Central turns its attention toward the six-team conference tourney. After missing the tourney last season, the Dutch earned the number six seed and face No. 3-seeded Buena Vista University Thursday at 1 p.m. at the home of the Cedar Rapids Kernals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Buena Vista captured the season series against Central 2-1.

Getting off to a good start is a priority at the conference tourney according to Schirm.
"Winning that first game is huge," he said. "If you win that first game you gain confidence going into the second game."