MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Carleton College baseball team had runners on base in all but one inning on the day, but the key hits eluded the Knights, who lost a doubleheader at Concordia College, 3-1 and 4-2. Alex Wirta (Jr./Corte Madera, Calif./Redwood), Ray Yong (Fy./Elmhurst, Ill./York), and Kevin Johnson (Fy./St. Anthony, Minn./DeLaSalle) each had three-hit days for Carleton.
The Knights (9-18, 3-9 MIAC) hoped for a repeat of Moorhead magic as they made their first trip back to the Red River Valley since sweeping a double-dip from the Cobbers on the final day of the 2009 regular season, victories that secured a playoff berth for Carleton.
Things started promising for the Knights in the early game as Wirta led off with a single, stole second and came home on the first of Yong’s two doubles on the day. Unfortunately, that ended up being the final tally for the Knights in the opener as Carleton stranded nine baserunners, five of them in scoring position.
First-year Anderson Cole (Aspen, Colo./Aspen) got the starting nod for Carleton and had a shaky start, surrendering four straight hits to start the bottom of the first, leading to a pair of Cobber runs. He settled down and went the distance, allowing only an unearned tally in the third.
It was more of the same in the nightcap, as Carleton threatened in each of the first six innings but again could not come up with the clutch base hit.
Projected weekend starters Paul Dimick (Jr./Northfield, Minn./Northfield) and Jacob Anderson (Sr./Anoka, Minn./Anoka) both tossed a scoreless frame as Head Coach Aaron Rushing pieced together his pitching staff for this one.
Ted Harmon (So./Edina, Minn./Edina) followed them to the hill for the third inning, but did not have the same level of success. He failed to retire any of the four batters he faced, with three of them coming around to score later in the frame. Jackson Tears (Fy./Trabuco Canyon, Calif./JSerra) was summoned from the pen and set down the first 10 batters he faced before eventually yielding an unearned run in the sixth.
The Knights return home for Senior Day on Saturday, April 23. The first-place Macalester College Scots visit Mel Taube Field for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader. Knights Online will carry live audio and live stats.
