OSCEOLA, FLORIDA — The Central College baseball is headed back to Iowa with an 10-1 record after ending the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with a 11-4, 13-0 sweep over Crown College (Minn.) on Monday night.
Winning 10 of the first 11 games on the schedule, the Dutch are off to the best start in program history.
"It's obviously the kind of start we wanted," coach Matt Schirm said. "It makes the trip a lot more fun when you win a lot of games."
From the leadoff spot, center fielder Coy Moore (senior, Hamilton, Twin Cedars HS) becomes the third Central player to record seven hits in a doubleheader. He went 7-for-9 with 6 RBIs.
"All of his hits were hard-hit," Schirm said. "I cleared the bench at the end of second game and some of the guys were begging me to keep him in so he could set the record."
Left fielder Lucas Farren (sophomore, Yorkville, Ill.) went 3-for-3, getting the start in both games. He also reached after being by a pitch twice and walking once. In total, he scored five runs.
"He had a really good day offensively," Schirm said. "He was constantly on base. He's a guy that doesn't start every game, but he was a sparkplug for us today."
Falling behind early in the opener, another impressive sixth-inning rally propelled the Dutch to victory as they tallied seven runs.
"Our guys hung in there offensively and were finally able to get a big inning together," Schirm said. "It was a good experience for our guys to have to come from behind."
The offense picked up where they left off, piling up 13 runs in the nightcap. Eight of those runs came in the first three innings.
"Up and down the lineup, everybody was hitting the ball hard," Schirm said. "It was good to see our guys take care of business."
Tanner Wood (senior, Pella) got the pitching start in game one, throwing four innings and allowing three runs. Tyler Steward (sophomore, Norwalk) got the win in 2.1 innings of relief and four strikeouts. Rece Martin (junior, Des Moines, Saydel HS) was the first of four Central pitchers in the nightcap, earning the win with five strikeouts.
The Dutch will open the American Rivers Conference season with a weekend series at Coe College, starting with a single nine-inning contest on Friday at 3 p.m.
"We're back to 0-0 when we start the conference season," Schirm said. "The competition is only going to get tougher, but we're coming in with a lot of confidence."
