< (So./Elk River, Minn.) worked seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits to earn his first career complete game shutout to lead the Carleton Knight baseball team to a 1-0 win over the Macalester College in the first game of a Wednesday afternoon doubleheader at Mel Taube Field. Macalester salvaged a split with a win in the second game of the twin bill.
The story of game one was Heuer’s masterful performance on the mound, as the Carleton (8-14, 1-5 MIAC) sophomore stifled one of the top offensive lineups in the MIAC. After a hit and a Knight defensive miscue put two runners on in the opening half of the first, Heuer retired 14 of the next 16 batters he faced to shutdown a Macalester offense that came into the game leading the MIAC with a .338 team batting average.
Macalester (15-9, 5-3 MIAC) starting pitcher Matthew Plisko was almost equally as stingy on the mound, as the Knights were only able to muster three hits through the first five innings. The Carleton bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth, as Wilson Battle (Fy./Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline) belted an RBI double to deep left field that scored Willie Freimuth (Sr./Waunakee, Wis.). That was all the offense Heuer needed, as the right-hander worked around a leadoff hit batsman in the bottom of the seventh to shut down the Scots en route to his first career complete game shutout.
The seven innings pitched matched a career-high for Heuer, who also struck out a career-best eight in the win. Freimuth paced the Knight offensive attack with two hits, including a double.
Game two saw Macalester jump out to a five-run lead in the first inning. The two teams traded zero’s over the next three frames, before the Scots added runs in the fifth, sixth and ninth en route to a 12-0 win and series split.
Joe Liesman (Fy./Pelahm, N.Y./Memorial) and Luke Curtis (Sr./Appleton, Wis./Appleton West) combined to work five innings of scoreless relief in game two. Freimuth and Battle both reached base with hits in the second game, while Jack Atterberry (Sr./Chatham, Ill./Glenwood) and Josh Small (Fy./Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) each went 1-3.
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: Carleton hits the road for an MIAC double-header on Saturday, April 15 at 1 p.m.