DeLaPaz blasts three home runs for Dutch in baseball doubleheader
Central offense totals 29 hits on the day
Decorah, IA (04/14/2025) — A monster week continued for Central College baseball catcher Dom DeLaPaz (senior, Davenport, West HS) with three home runs and eight RBI in a doubleheader split at Luther College Saturday.
Central (13-14, 5-10 American Rivers Conference) dropped the opener 12-8 to Luther (10-18, 6-9 conference) before winning the second game 11-6.
DeLaPaz was the catalyst for the Dutch offense which recorded 29 hits on the day including nine for extra bases.
"Dom has been locked in all week," coach Adam Carey said. "He made some really nice adjustments on some things he needed to work on after last week. It was consistent every time he was in the box, we knew what type of at-bat we were going to get and the results ended up being great."
Right fielder Jaden Kramer (junior, Cedar Falls) totaled five hits between the two games. Jackson Torbit (St. Louis, Mo., Webster Groves HS) had a triple in game two. Second baseman Chance Dreyer (junior, Davenport, Assumption HS), designed hitter Brayden Sawyer (junior, Grundy Center), first baseman David Distefano (freshman, Janesville, Wis., Craig HS) and shortstop Garrett Guenther (sophomore, Grayslake, Ill., Central HS) all had a double.
"Our lineup was reliable," Carey said. "No matter who we put in and what position they were in the lineup, they were putting together good at-bats. I was impressed with the way we handled our approach and the types of swings we took."
Sawyer got the win on the mound in game two. He gave up just three earned runs in 5.0 innings of work despite allowing 10 hits and two walks. Bryce Haessig (junior, Huxley, Ballard HS) recorded his fourth save of the season, tossing the final four frames and allowing one run on three hits and a walk. The duo recorded no strikeouts in a winning effort.
"They scored runs but Brayden and Bryce challenged their hitters all game," Carey said. "They had a big inning but it was because their bats just outhit Sawyer's stuff. That didn't shy him away from the zone at all. They gave us a chance and our offense took care of the rest."
Bryer Wiley (freshman, Urbana, Center Point-Urbana HS) made his second start on the mound this week following Tuesday's start at Buena Vista University. He was tagged for seven earned runs in 3.1 innings after allowing just three hits but four walks and hitting four batters. Three Central relievers completed the game, allowing five more runs with three more walks.
"We knew it wasn't going to be a long outing for Bryer coming off relatively short rest," Carey said. "Free bases kill any momentum you may have and that's what happened today. We can't give those away, especially when our offense is producing the way it was."
Central hosts a non-conference doubleheader against Westminster College (Mo.) at 1 p.m. Tuesday.