NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College baseball team held leads in both games of their Senior Day doubleheader against Luther College, but came up short, falling 5-2 and 10-5.
On Senior day, Head Coach Alec Holcomb said “I’m sad to be winding down the season with this senior class, but I’m grateful for every moment we have had together. This group embodies what it means to be a Carleton Knight. Their leadership and work ethic will be missed, but their impact will never be forgotton”.
Game One – Luther 5, Carleton 2
Senior Sam Zacks started on the bump and faced one more than the minimum over his first three innings. In the bottom of the third, Andrew Sellers led off with a single, stole second, and scored on an error. Jordan Appelbaum executed a squeeze bunt to bring home another run, giving Carleton (9-19, 3-13 MIAC) a 2-0 edge.
The Norse (17-20, 10-11 ARC) got on the board in the fourth, tying the game at two with three straight hits. In the fifth, they pushed across two more to make it 4-2. Another Luther run crossed in the sixth. Carleton was unable to solve Norse reliever Brody Von Berge, dropping the opener.
Sidearming righty Zacks threw 4.0 solid frames, allowing four hits and two runs. Zach Gordon gave up a hit and a run over 2.0 innings. Sellers was 1-for-2 with a hit and a run.
Game Two – Luther 10, Carleton 5
Luther got a run across in the first, but the Knights responded immediately with a pair in the bottom of the first. Will Schnepf and Brandon Damelin knocked back-to-back RBI doubles to give Carleton the 2-1 lead. Thanks to a trio of walks, the Norse wrested the lead back with two in the second, and got one more on a wild pitch in the third.
Luther intentionally walked Schnepf to face Damelin with the bases loaded in the fourth, and the sophomore made them pay with a two-run single to right. Schnepf then hustled home all the way from second on a wild pitch to make it 5-4.
Luther scored six unanswered over the final five innings, getting one in the fifth, three in the sixth, and one each in the eighth and ninth. Carleton went down in order in the final three frames.
Damelin concluded at 2-for-3 with three RBI. Carlo Lissuzo had a pair of base hits and scored a run.
Seven Carleton hurlers were used in a bullpen game. Standouts included Luke Lawson, Jake Stern, and Jordan Kramer. Lawson authored 1.0 scoreless innings and a strikeout. Stern posted his fifth straight scoreless outing over an inning. Kramer’s first batter reached on an error and scored, but he finished his inning without an earned run.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton concludes its home schedule with a twin bill against Hamline University on Tuesday, April 29. Game one begins at 2:30 p.m.
