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Baseball splits in series of conference games

Date 4/15/1999 12:00 AM | Topic: Sports

Luther baseball jumped right into conference play after a successful series in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

The Norse men returned to Iowa diamonds with a team consisting of 11 returning letter winners and five first-year all-conference performers. Ready for head to head competition against Coe, Central and Dubuque, Luther baseball posts 500 in the IIAC after six games.

On Wednesday, April 7, the team traveled to Cedar Rapids for a double header against conference competitor Coe College. The Norse performed well on the field, earning a pair of victories 18-13, 5-3.

Luther dominated the first inning, charging in four runs on the offense while the defense allowed zero runs to pass the plate.

After a 1-1 earned run second inning, Luther baseball managed to let seven Coe runs tally while the blue and white left the third inning scoreless.

Action remained in fierce competition with limited scoring across the board until the seventh inning when Luther clobbered in 10 runs after an 8-12 sixth inning performance threatened to snatch a victory for Coe.

Winning pitcher Bob Anderson ('99) allowed nine hits in five innings while right-fielder James Cortez ('00) gave a near-perfect three for four performance at the plate.

The second game saw Luther inactive in scoring for five straight innings. After a three-run third inning in favor of Coe, the Norse defense silenced their opponent for the remainder of the game.

Luther offensive energy peaked in the sixth and seventh innings. A five point total at the end of end of seven provided Luther with the winning edge over Coe.

The arm of winning pitcher Jason Soland ('99) proved golden on the mound as he earned seven strike-outs in seven innings. Left-fielder Brent Ebling ('99) connected on two of three at-bats.

A Saturday, April 10 bout against Central College proved less fruitful for Norse baseball who left Pella with double losses. Luther dropped a 4-7, 2-3 set against their second opponent in IIAC action.

Both teams began strong, ending the first inning with three runs apiece, but Luther was unable to catch up to the increasing Central lead. Central's 10 team hits versus Luther's six team hits added to the upset performance as well as five errors from the Luther camp.

A notable performance was given by the winning Central pitcher Jim Barclay who threw nine strike-outs in six complete innings.

Luther came close in the second game, yet fell short of victory giving the Norse a 2-2 record in the IIAC, 6-4 overall.

Pitcher Ryan Niedfeldt ('00) stepped to the mound for six innings and three strike-outs.

At the plate Josh Wobeter ('00) performed at 50 percent, connecting on two of four at-bats. Five Luther batters failed to connect on all three individual at-bats.

Men's baseball achieved a split at a home game against Dubuque on Monday, April 12, losing the first 3-4, but coming back to blow away the competition with a 12-1 victory.

After a scoreless first two innings, Dubuque took over the scoreboards earning three runs in the top of the third. The Luther ball camp matched Dubuque with three in the bottom of the fourth.

The two teams remained tied until Dubuque obtained a one point advantage over the Norse in the seventh inning. Luther stepped to the plate with a one point margin separating them from Dubuque, but the blue and white were unable to pull ahead.

Luther men were successful at the plate with third baseman Justin Mosbo ('02) and first baseman Lars Finanger ('02) connecting on two of three at-bats.

Losing pitcher Anderson matched his opposing Dubuque pitcher in pitched innings and strike-outs, by achieving four strike-outs in seven innings on the mound.

The Norse men stepped up to the challenge after losing the first game and entered the second game with a new vitality. The blue and white scored seven runs in the second inning and continued, scoring in all but one more inning until the end of the game.

With the Norse leading 10-0 in the sixth, Dubuque gave a feeble effort, earning their only point in the game. Luther answered the attempt with two runs in the bottom of the inning to claim the game 12-1.

The pitching performance of Jason Soland ('00)was unparalleled as the winning pitcher collected 10 strike-outs in six innings while the Dubuque pitching camp alternated between four pitchers who collectively failed to earn any strike-outs against the Norse.

Luther baseball faces four competitors in the next week, three in the IIAC. Today, Luther faced Upper Iowa in a 1 p.m. home game. Weekend action includes a home meet on Saturday, April 17 against William Penn and a trip to Winona, MN to face St. Mary's in non-conference competition the following day.

The Norse return to Decorah and IIAC competition on Wednesday, April 21 in a game against Loras.

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Amy Domaszek
Chips Sports Editor

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