Baseball | 5/13/2022 9:14:00 PM

Written by Josh Garcia
BVU Sports Information Student Intern

STORM LAKE, Iowa (May 12, 2022) - The Buena Vista baseball team was back in action in Cedar Rapids as they continued their American Rivers Conference run. The Beavers would defeat Luther 5-4 in extra innings before ultimately falling to Wartburg 7-3 in the nightcap.

LUTHER VS BUENA VISTA

The matchup saw the Norse get off to a quick start, picking up two runs in the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Charlie Rubendall and an RBI single from Will Heithoff. The Beavers would respond in the bottom half of the inning on a fielder's choice from Evan Taylor to score Jordan Mathewson.

In the third inning, right fielder Mark Prince would hit a two-run homerun to left field, extending the Norse lead to 4-1.

The score would remain 4-1 until the fifth inning when Drew Taylor doubled down the right field line to score his brother Evan.

In the sixth inning, Beavers starting pitcher, Dalton Glenn would start to find a groove. Glenn would retire the side in order, starting a string of 10 straight batters retired for the right hander.

The Beavers would receive two runs in the bottom of the sixth from a fielder's choice from Joel Garcia and a Norse error to tie the game at 4-4.

The game would remain tied at the completion of nine inning and would require extra innings. Senior lefty Devon VanHouten kept the Norse offense at bay in the top of the tenth before Jackson Smith ended the contest in the bottom half with a walk off RBI single up the middle to secure a 5-4 win for the Beavers.

Glenn pitched a gutsy eight innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out seven. VanHouten earned the win in relief for the Beavers, pitching two scoreless innings allowing two hits while striking out one. Calvin Brinda was charged with the loss for the Norse.

The Beavers would compile 14 hits on the afternoon. Four Beaver batters would record multi-hit performances: Jordan Mathewson (two), Drew Taylor (two), Jackson Smith (three), and Logan Mueller (two).

WARTBURG VS BUENA VISTA

With a victory against Luther, the Beavers advanced to play Wartburg less than a hour later.

The matchup saw the Beavers strike first on a RBI fielder's choice from Kyler Corcoran in the first. It was smooth sailing the first three innings with starting pitcher, Mark Eddie, allowing no runs while striking out six.

The Knights would strike in the top of the fourth on a pair of RBI doubles from William Armstrong and Bryce Butler to grab a 2-1 lead.

The score would remain 2-1 until the sixth inning when a Armstrong sacrifice fly extended the Knights lead to 3-1.  The Knights would add on again in the seventh, this time on a two-run homerun from Max Goodhue, making it a 5-1 game.  An RBI triple from Keaton Gray and a Beaver fielding error would later extend the Knights lead to 7-1.

The Beavers would show signs of life in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases with no outs to start the inning. Caden Mathewson would get hit by a pitch to narrow the deficit to 7-2. Jackson Smith would then ground into a double play, scoring Evan Taylor on the play, making it 7-3. That would be all the Beavers could muster in the inning as they headed into the ninth trailing 7-3 before ultimately losing by a final score of 7-3.

Mark Eddie was charged with the loss for the Beavers, pitching seven innings allowing four earned runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out 10. Joey Ciero would earn the win for the Knights, pitching seven innings allowing no earned runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three.

The Beavers batters would compile six hits in the contest. Three Beavers recorded multi-hit performances: Drew Taylor (two), Evan Taylor (two), and Zach Pleggenkuhle (two).

UP NEXT

The Beavers are now 27-14 and will await the decision of the selection committee on Monday to see if they receive an at-large berth into the NCAA Regional Tournament.