PELLA — After going down 8-3 in the third inning, the Central College baseball team battled back for a 13-9 victory over Grinnell College Tuesday afternoon.
The Dutch moved to 14-18 on the season, matching last year's win total with seven games left to play. It was also career win No. 400 coach Casey Klunder, including his 16-year career at Waverly-Shell Rock High School. The Pioneers fell to 11-17.
"This was probably the first win we've had since we got back from Florida where I didn't think we played very well," Klunder said. "Give Grinnell credit, they came out and played well and played hard. We did enough to get the victory in the end."
The Dutch lost two of its hottest hitters early in the game after both left fielder Ian Boline (senior, Alburnett) and first baseman Declan O'Hare (junior, Los Angeles, Calif., John Marshall HS) were hit by pitches are removed from the game. Fortunately, both of their replacements stepped in well. Landon Vander Leest (senior, Pella) relieved O'Hare and stroked two doubles, including a three-RBI knock in the fifth inning to take the lead.
"I'm really happy for Landon to get that hit in his last home game," Klunder said.
McCoy took Boline's spot in the outfield and chipped in with two hits and an RBI.
Freshman catcher Dom De LaPaz (freshman, Davenport, West HS) hit his fifth home run in the month of April in the third inning and notched a hit in his 11th straight game in the process.
"His bat is so quick," Klunder said. "He's on fire right now and forcing us to keep him in the lineup. He's getting better as we go along."
The Dutch reshuffled the lineup and second baseman Lucas Farren (fifth year, Yorkville, Ill.) taking over the leadoff spot instantly paid dividends. He was hit by a pitch in the first inning and scored. He reached on an error in the fourth and scored. He walked in the fifth and scored. His two-RBI single in the sixth gave Central the lead for good. Farren has scored a team-high 33 runs.
"The biggest thing about Lucas is that he gets on base," Klunder said. "Whether he gets hit by a pitch or battles with two strikes and gets balls in play. We just felt like we wanted that on-base percentage at the top of the lineup today."
Landon Thiele (junior, Moline, Ill.) was the winning pitcher after 2.1 innings of relief, striking out four and allowing two runs on four hits. Marcus Wenzel (senior, Chicago, Ill., Luther North College Prep) buzzed through the Pioneer lineup in the 8th and 9th innings for his first save, striking out four of the eight batters faced.
"Our seniors all played well for us," Klunder said.
Central heads to Nebraska Wesleyan University for a weekend series, starting with a single game Friday at 3 p.m.