April 2, 2019

Luther's Colucci no hits ARC rival

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Colucci's no-no is the third by a Norse pitcher in the
last three-plus years.
Luther athletics photo

Luther hosted Wartburg Tuesday afternoon for the home opener and swept the Knights 10-0 (8) and 7-0.

 In game two, freshman John Colucci III, faced 29 batters, two over the minimum, en route to a no-hitter. Colucci walked two and struck out four in his second collegiate start on the mound. Colucci's no-no is the third by a Norse pitcher in the last three-plus years. Last year, Colin Coffey tossed a no-hitter against Northland, a 1-0 victory on March 17, 2018. Prior to Coffey, Blake Peterson posted a 1-0 victory while tossing a no-hitter against Simpson on April 16, 2016.

Luther held a 1-0 lead until it broke loose with six runs on six hits in the bottom of the eighth. Eleven batters stepped to the plate in the frame. 

Jake Halverson was 2-for-2 with 2 rbi. Plunkett went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Athmann was 2-for-5, scored once and was credited with one rbi. Kyle Scnobrich and Jake Vogt also had multiple hit efforts going 2-for-4.

In game one, Luther exploded for 12 hits and scored three runs in the first, four in the third, one in the fourth and two in the eighth, en route to the victory. 

Bryce Hingst drove in four runs, including the game winner, a sac fly to right field that scored Trent Athmann. Athmann and Owen Vander Linden both had three hits, while Luke Plunkett was 2-for-5 with two rbi. Vander Linden, Jake Halverson and Joe McKibben were all credited with one rbi. 

Nate Loch (2-1) got the start and allowed two hits and struck out six, in six innings of work. Nick Dufoe threw the final two frames and allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one.

The sweep gives Luther an American Rivers Conference record of 4-1. The Norse have now won three in a row and are 11-10 overall. Wartburg fell to 3-5 in the A-R-C, 6-15 overall.

Luther returns to league play this Friday and Saturday, April 5-6 when it will host Loras for a three-game series. Friday's game (1x9) will start at 3:00 p.m. Saturday's double header (2x9) begins at Noon.