Simpson drops doubleheader to St. Olaf

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson College baseball team dropped both ends of its nonconference doubleheader against RV St. Olaf on Sunday.

The Storm (1-3) were shut out 5-0 in game one as the Oles (2-0) steadily built their lead with nine hits and strong pitching from Jacob Fickenscher, who registered 12 strikeouts in five innings. In game two, Simpson took an early lead on a home run from Drew Carlson, but St. Olaf responded with big innings in the fourth, fifth, and ninth to secure a 13-4 victory.

GAME ONE SUMMARY

• St. Olaf scored its first run of the day via a bases-loaded walk from Frank Lavin with one out in the first. Simpson got out of the early jam without any further damage thanks to a strikeout from Trey Castile followed by an unassisted groundout to Nate Cagley at first.
• The Oles added to their lead in the fourth as Evan Hammonds doubled to left center and Breckin Hadley singled to short.
• A pair of RBI singles from Jack Pettit and Matthew Oberlander in the fifth and sixth made the score 5-0 in favor of the visitors.
• Simpson put at least one runner on in each of the final five innings, but was unable to score. 

GAME ONE LEADERS

• Matthew Florence: 2 hits, 1 double
• Drew Carlson: 1 double
• Nate Cagley: 1 hit, 1 walk

GAME TWO SUMMARY

• Drew Carlson gave Simpson its first run and lead of the day with a home run to right center in the bottom of the first. It was the sophomore's first career long ball.
• St. Olaf answered with three runs on three hits in the second for a 3-1 advantage.
• The Storm got two runs back in the home half of the inning to level the game at 3-3. Bryson Gibson scored on a throwing error before Trenten Kingrey added another run on a double steal attempt.
• After a scoreless third on both sides, St. Olaf reclaimed the lead in the fourth, using a two-run double from Matthew Kulesa to move ahead 5-3.
• The Oles widened the gap to 8-3 the following inning, capitalizing on a three-run double by Calvin Keesler.
• Simpson had an opportunity to close the deficit in the fifth with two runners in scoring position, but a double play ended the threat.
• In the bottom of the eighth, the Storm used a deep double from Kingrey to trim the lead to four. Gibson scored from first on the play after a base hit to right field with two outs.
• St. Olaf slammed the door with a five-run ninth inning highlighted by a bases-clearing triple by Jack Pettit.

GAME TWO LEADERS

• Bryson Gibson: 2 hits, 2 runs
• Drew Carlson: 1 home run, 2 walks
• Trenten Kingrey: 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 1 run

UP NEXT
Simpson goes back on the road to play Division I Western Illinois on Wednesday before hosting Augsburg for a three-game series next weekend.