Pipers almost play two complete games against Central to open season

Central won the first seven-inning game, 4-2. Hamline was leading the second game 12-7 in the top of the seventh inning of game two, with one out and runner on first base, and a 1-2 pitch count when the clock struck 9:30, forcing the teams off the field. The two teams will complete the game on Sunday, March 16, in Phoenix, Ariz., when these same two teams face off in the Greater Phoenix Invitational.

In game one, Ben Smith (Jr., Orono, Minn.) walked with one out. He was shortly joined on base by Andrew Bennett (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) with another walk, Lincoln Hughes (So., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) who was hit by a pitch. With Smith now at third, a James McGee (Jr., Fridley, Minn.) single drove in the run to score the first Piper run of the season.

Central answered back in the bottom of the first, as Derek Knutson (Jr., Richland, Wash.) singled to drive in Anthony Bazant (So., La Vista, Neb.).

Bazant scored again for Central in the bottom of the third, while Caleb Rangel (Fy., Rock Island, Ill.) scored in the fourth inning for the Dutch to take a 3-1 lead. Hamline was able to add one more run in the top of the fifth from Dan Kaczowski (Jr., St. Anthony, Minn.), but not another. Centrals fourth and final run came in the sixth inning.

Hamline built up a lead quickly in the second game, scoring five runs on no hits in the opening inning on seven walks and several wild pitches. They continued scoring the same way in the second inning, adding two more runs, and in the third inning, adding three runs.

Central countered in the fourth inning when a walk, a double, and a walk set up the scene for a grand slam from Rangel to cut the lead to 10-4. Central then added two more addiitional runs in the fourth, as did Hamline, to leave the score at 12-6 after four innings.

Before the game was called due to time constraints in the seventh inning, Central added one more run in the sixth to leave the score at 12-7 as the teams finished their opening morning of  play in 2008.

Central’s starting pitcher in game one was Brett Mahan (Sr., West Des Moines, Iowa) threw five innings for the win, giving up just two runs on two hits and six strikeouts. In relief, Adam Squires (Jr., Center Point, Iowa) earned the save.

Hamline starter Josh Roiger (Sr., West St. Paul, Minn.) was the only Piper pitcher in game one, giving up four runs and throwing six strikeouts.

With the one decision from today’s non-conference game, the Pipers are 0-1 and the Dutch are 1-0. Hamline takes to the field at the Metrodome again in two days to play Loras College on Monday, March 3 at 5:00 p.m.

Hamline University belongs to the NCAA Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, one of the most competitive conferences in the nation. Hamline supports 19 intercollegiate athletic teams for men and women. Find out more about Hamline athletics at www.hamline.edu/hamline_info/athletics.

Creative and innovative teaching and learning attract a diverse student body of nearly 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students to Hamline University. Challenged to create and apply knowledge in local and global contexts, Hamline students develop an individual and community ethic of social justice, civic responsibility, and inclusive leadership and service.

Ranked first in Minnesota among comprehensive master’s universities by U.S.News & World Report, Hamline is also Minnesota’s first university, founded in 1854, and among the first co-educational institutions in the nation.