Luther and Central squared off on a beautiful afternoon in the valley for the final two regular season games of the year for both clubs. The Norse swept the Dutch 1-0 and 10-5. With the two wins, Luther finished the American Rivers Conference schedule with a record of 13-11, securing the No. 4 seed for the league's six-team tournament.
In game one,
Tyler Boesel got the call for the final time on the home mound and responded with a complete game five-hit shutout. Boesel faced 33 batters, did not issue a walk and struck out nine.
Josh Matanich drove in the game winner in the eighth. With two outs,
Luke Plunkett reached on an infield single. Facing a two-and-two count, Matanich hit a single to right field that fell between three Dutch defenders. Plunkett was waved around third by Head Coach
Bryan Nikkel and beat the throw to the plate for the lone run of the game.
In the nightcap, trailing 4-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, Luther scored five runs on three hits, capped off with a three-run double to right-center field by
Joe Jersak.
The Norse added four more runs in the eighth.
Mark Prince led-off the frame with a single to left field.
Jayden Kies advanced Prince to second with a sacrifice bunt and Plunkett doubled to left-center that scored Prince. The Dutch made a pitching change and Matanich took the first pitch he faced over the trees in right field for a two-run home run. Gavin James followed with a one-pitch blast to left field for the final run of the game.
Will Angstman (2-0) picked up the win in relief. Angstman threw 2 1/3 innings, allowed one hit and struckout two.
Collin Chalmers picked up his fourth save of the season allowing one run on one hit during the final two innings of the ball game. Chalmers took over on the mound with the Norse holding a 6-4 lead.
The 2022 A-R-C Baseball Tournament will be held May 12-14 at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The winner of the tournament will earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA III National Tournament.
As the No. 4 seed, Luther will face No. 5 Coe College in the first round on Thursday at Daniels Park, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Start time is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. This is the only game played at Dainels Park during the three-day tournament.
The complete A-R-C Tournament schedule
