<’s (So./Elk River, Minn./Elk River) second consecutive pitching gem helped the Carleton College baseball team to a split of its doubleheader at Concordia College. The Knights rallied for a 2-1 win in the opener, then watched the Cobbers battle back for a 6-5 extra-inning victory in the nightcap.
Heuer scattered five hits—all singles—while matching his career best with 7.0 innings pitched. He struck out three and issued four walks in snapping Concordia’s (18-12, 7-5 MIAC) seven-game win streak. Over his last two starts, Heuer is now 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA.
With the Cobbers leading 1-0 in the fifth inning, Keenan Moore (Fy./Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle) tied things up with a RBI groundout, and Josh Small (Fy./Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) followed with a run-scoring infield single, one of his team-best three hits on the day.
Both squads finished the contest with only five hits as Wilson Battle’s (Fy./Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline Senior) first-inning double accounting for the lone extra-base knock.
In game two, the Cobbers’ walk-off wizardry continued. This was the fifth victory for Concordia via a walk-off scenario this season and the fourth over the last five days.
Carleton (9-17, 2-8 MIAC) jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led 5-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh. That is when the Cobbers scored a trio of two-out runs to even the score. The Knights put runners into scoring position in both the eighth and ninth innings and got another baserunner aboard in the 10th, but Carleton could not come up with the extra required clutch hit to break the deadlock. Concordia eventually scored the winning run as the Knights slipped to 2-2 in extra-inning affairs.
Griffin Bolte (Jr./Portland, Ore./Lincoln) had a pair of sacrifice flies in game two to twice chase home Small, who was the lone Knight with a multi-hit game, including a RBI triple.
Carleton right-hander Tyler Rolland (Jr./Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley) ended up with a no decision as he tossed a career-high 7.0 innings before handing the ball over to Ben Frerichs (Jr./Alexandria, Va./St. Stephens and St. Agnes), who escaped a runner on third, one-out situation in the eighth and tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to force the game into extra innings.
FROM THE COACH: “Another fun day at the ball yard with a group of guys who play hard,” said Carleton head coach Aaron Rushing. “We got a couple nice pitching performances, including another ‘lights out’ performance from Austin.”
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: Carleton returns home to host University of St. Thomas on Saturday, April 22 at 1 p.m. It will be Senior Day at Mel Taube Field, and Knights Online will once again feature live video and stats for both games.