<rleton College baseball team has embarked on a nine-game road trip to conclude the regular season, and the journey started well for the Knights, who swept host Minnesota-Morris on Sunday by scores of 12-5 and 7-3. The biggest key for Carleton was the performances turned in by its young pitchers. The Knights yielded only three earned runs on the day while watching upperclassmen account for only one of the 14.0 innings pitched.
“It’s great to get right back out there after a tough day on Saturday,” said Carleton head coach Aaron Rushing. “I am proud of the way we bounced back and got on the right side of the win column again.”
Sophomore lefthander Luke Curtis (Appleton, Wis./Appleton West) got the starting nod in game one and picked up the victory after yielding two earned runs over 4.0 innings on the hill. Rookie Josh Johnson (St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Academy) followed with a scoreless frame as did Cody Bohlman (Jr./Irvine, Calif./University). Tyler Rolland (Fy./Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley) made his varsity debut and pitched the final inning.
Adam Shaukat (So./Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y./Croton-Harmon) paced the Carleton offense, going 2-for-3 with a career-best five RBI. He drew a go-ahead bases-loaded walk during the Knights five-run fourth inning and later added a pair of two-run singles.
Walker Froeling (Fy./Hanska, Minn./St. James) took the mound for game two and did not permit an earned run over 6.0 strong innings en route to his first collegiate triumph. Another rookie, Alec Lawler (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Shanghai American School) pitched the bottom of the seventh to finish the sweep.
Griffin Bolte (Fy./Portland, Ore./Lincoln) contributed a triple and a two-run single as the Knights built a 7-0 lead. Jack Atterberry (So./Chatham, Ill./Glenwood) turned in Carleton’s other multi-hit effort in game two.
“It was nice to see quality outings from some of our young pitchers,” said Rushing. “Luke and Walker both did a great job, and we expect some big things out of those two in the future.”
The next stop on Carleton’s extended road swing is a doubleheader at University of St. Thomas on Tuesday, April 28. The Tommies (8-6 MIAC) are currently tied for the fourth and final playoff spot and sit only one game in front of the Knights (7-7 MIAC) in the standings.