DECORAH — The offense for the Central College baseball team went cold in a pair of losses to Luther College Friday.
Central (12-16, 7-7 American Rivers Conference) fell 5-3 in the opener and 10-2 in the nightcap against Luther (22-7, 12-3 conference). After recording double digit hits in seven of its previous 10 games, Central mustered just six in each game Friday.
Shortstop Garrett Guenther (Grayslake, Ill., Central HS) had two home runs in the first game, driving in all three runs. Jaden Kramer also had two hits for Central.
Game one starting pitcher Mark Kenney (senior, Fennimore, Wis.) took the loss, allowing five earned runs in 7.0 innings. He gave up 11 hits and walked two batters while striking out four.
In the second game, third baseman Brayden Sawyer (senior, Grundy Center) had a solo home run to start the scoring for the Dutch in the eighth. Left fielder Stephen Stufflebeam (junior, Macomb, Ill.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for an RBI. Sawyer and center fielder Max Steinlage (senior, Cedar Falls) each had two hits.
Jackson Torbit (sophomore, St. Louis, Mo., Webster Groves HS) was the losing pitcher in game two, working 5.1 innings and allowing two earned runs. He struck out three and walked three batters, giving up six hits along the way.
Central completes the series with a single game at 9 a.m. Saturday.
