NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College baseball team split a doubleheader against Minnesota Morris at Mueller Park on Tuesday, winning game one 4-0, but losing game two 9-5.
GAME 1
Jonathan Kock pitched a complete game shutout to lead MLC to a 4-0 game one win.
Kock was dominant from the start, allowing only four hits (the first of which came in the fifth inning) and walking two in nine innings while striking out five.
Kock only found himself in trouble once in the game, as the Cougars loaded the bases with no one out to start the seventh inning, but Kock retired the next three in order to keep UMM scoreless.
As good as Kock was on the mound, Joey Hyde matched him pitch-for-pitch through seven innings, as the teams remained scoreless heading into the bottom of the eighth inning.
The Knights were able to get to Hyde in the eighth, however, as
Jason Lindemann smashed a two-run double to centerfield, scoring
James Hemmelman and
John Marquardt.
Jared Lindemann added an RBI single, and
Karl Kuschel finished the scoring with a run-scoring double to give Kock the four-run lead.
Kock's shutout was the second of his career, and his first this season. He improved his record to 3-6 with the win.
GAME 2
UMM was able to get the split with a 9-5 win in game two.
The Cougars jumped on top with a four-run second inning, and never trailed the rest of the way. They added one run in both the fourth and seventh innings, and then scored three times in the ninth to put the game away.Â
Hemmelman started the game on the mound and pitched the first 7.2 innings for MLC, allowing six runs (four earned) on 11 hits. He fell to 1-5 this season in defeat.
Travis Kretsch and
Jared Lindemann recorded RBI early in the game to cut into the deficit, while
Jason Lindemann added an RBI single in the ninth, but it wasn't enough to overcome the UMM lead.
Following the split, MLC is now 5-21 overall and 3-9 in UMAC play. UMM is now 11-19 on the season and 4-6 in conference play.
The Knights will return to action on Friday, April 29, when they travel to Maranatha Baptist for the first of two weekend doubleheaders.
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