PELLA — Blasting three home runs and adding another trio of extra-base hits, the Central College baseball team opened its weekend series against Simpson College with a 12-9 win Saturday afternoon.
Central (8-9, 2-4 American Rivers Conference) pounded out 13 total hits, including three apiece from second baseman Logan McCoy (sophomore, Galva, Alta-Aurelia HS), left fielder Chase Martin (sophomore, Port St. Lucie, Fla., John Carroll HS) and shortstop Kasey Carter (Prole, Indianola HS). Carter had a double and a triple and Martin had a triple.
The big flies came off the bats of three different Dutch players. Chance Dreyer's (Davenport, Assumption HS) first inning home run drove in three runs. Third baseman Declan O'Hare (senior, Los Angeles, Calif., John Marshall HS), added a solo shot in the second inning before right fielder Colton DeRocher (junior, Sioux City, East HS) had a three-run shot of his own in the sixth inning.
"We knew it was going to be high scoring," coach Casey Klunder said. "Everyone who came to the game knew it was blowing out to left field. Every time Simpson put up a crooked number, we answered them back.
"My favorite part about our lineup is how we attacked. We didn't give them any breaks and that's what it takes against a good pitching staff like Simpson."
Simpson countered with 10 hits of their own, including two home runs and three doubles.
Dreyer came out victorious in a dual of freshman pitchers, striking out nine over 6.2 innings and allowing five earned runs. He scattered eight hits and walked just two.
"Other than an error in third, he really went up and down the lineup through the first four innings," Klunder said. "That's a good lineup with a lot of veteran players and he executed well. The stage wasn't too big for him."
Sam Staley (Cedar Rapids, Jefferson HS) gave up a pair of runs in 1.2 innings of relief work before Parker Jones (junior, Verona, Wis., Verona Area HS) closed out the day with two outs and his third save of the season.
"Parker is a cool customer," Klunder said. "There's no difference in his body language whether things go well or things go poorly. His confidence comes from his work ethic. Sam did a nice job in the middle, especially with those three groundouts in the eighth inning."
The series continues Sunday for the Dutch and the Storm with a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
