ABILENE, TEXAS — Rallies in the eighth and ninth inning came up short as Central College's baseball team fell 5-4 in game two of Saturday's doubleheader at Hardin-Simmons University (Texas).

Central (2-3) fell in the opener 11-1 in seven innings to the Cowboys (6-4).

Trailing 4-3 entering the eighth inning of the nightcap, center fielder Max Steinlage (senior, Cedar Falls) led off with a double. Brayden Sawyer (senior, third baseman, Grundy Center) and Jaden Kramer (senior, right fielder, Cedar Falls) were issued walks to load the bases with one out but the Dutch were unable to scratch a run across.

The Cowboys added a run in the bottom half to make it 5-3 into the ninth. Singles from Nathan Scragg (senior, designated hitter, Port Perry, Ontario, Canada), Steinlage and Sawyer gave Central another run. Slugging catcher Dom DeLaPaz (fifth year, Davenport, West HS) was intentionally walked with two outs to load the bases again. Kramer popped up to end the threat and contest at 5-4.

Steinlage was 4-4 with three RBI. Scragg also had three hits while shortstop Garrett Guenther (junior, Grayslake, Ill., Central HS) had two. On the mound Bryer Wiley (sophomore, Urbana, Center Point-Urbana HS took the loss, yielding four earned runs with 10 hits in 6.0 innings. He struck out three and walked no one. Drew Sabatino (sophomore, Waukee) came on for 2.0 innings of relief, allowing one unearned run.

In Saturday's first game, Brock Luna's (junior, designated hitter, Moline, Ill.) fifth-inning home run was Central's only scoring play. Jackson Torbit (sophomore, St. Louis, Mo., Webster Groves HS) was the losing pitcher, allowing a pair of earned runs in 5.0 innings. He struck out four and walked one, with just four hits allowed.

Central has four games on the slate for next weekend in Sauget, Illinois at GCS Ballpark. They'll play the Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) and Westminster College (Mo.) one game a piece on both Saturday and Sunday.