Offense abounds for Dutch baseball team in doubleheader split

Central finishes 3-1 after the opening weekend

by Joseph Flaherty

West Liberty, IA (03/04/2025) — The bats stayed hot for the Central College baseball team with 19 runs while taking one of two games from Cornell College Sunday afternoon.

Central (3-1) let an early lead slip away for a 9-8 defeat in 12 innings to start the day. The Dutch earned the split against the Rams with a 10-7 victory in the nightcap.

The Dutch had 24 hits, including five doubles and a home run on the day.

"We had offense like crazy this weekend and it was fun to watch our guys swing it," coach Adam Carey said. "We scored first and had double-digit hits in all four games."

Third baseman Brayden Sawyer (junior, Grundy Center) led the Dutch with five hits on the day. Left fielder Dylan Williams (junior, Woods Cross, Utah) had two doubles in game two and designated hitter Dom DeLaPaz (senior, Davenport, West HS) had his first home run of the season in the opener.

In the opener, Central led 8-3 going into the ninth before the Rams plated five runs with two outs. Jackson Torbit (freshman, St. Louis, Mo, Webster Groves HS) was the starting pitcher and finished with a no decision. He struck out four and limited the Rams to one hit and one run.

"We got off to a fast start and the offense looked good, "Carey said. "Jackson had an awesome start, with plenty of things to improve upon. Things got messy at the end and Cornell has a good offense. They had more in the tank at the end then we did."

Max Steinlage (junior, Cedar Falls) took the mound in game two, striking out five in six innings and earning the win.

"It was the most efficient start of his career," Carey said. "He had just 65 pitches through five innings."

Cornell's offense had another five-run inning in the eighth, but freshman Eli Rouse (Madrid, Ballard HS) came on in the ninth and struck out two of three batters faced.

"They tried to make a big push again at the end, but Eli really slammed the door," Carey said.

Torbit and Rouse were two of the six Central pitchers making their collegiate debuts.

"I think there were good learning opportunities for all six of them," Carey said. "We look forward to using those later on this season and in their career."

Central plays eight games in Florida next week at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, starting with a 3:45 p.m. (EST) game against Bethany College (W. Va.) on Sunday in Auburndale.

Dominic

DeLaPaz