TUCSON, Az. – The Luther baseball team concluded their Arizona trip with a 18-8 loss to Cal Tech in the first ever meeting between the two teams. The Norse had a successful trip going 3-2 overall and now sit with a 7-8 record on the season. They will open the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play at the end of the week.
ONTO CONFERENCE PLAY
The Norse scored first like they typically do with a single from
Noah Sebben (Moline, Ill. / Moline) who drove in
Cullen Stamp (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata). But the Beavers followed up with a four-run inning that included a home run for a 4-1 lead over Luther. In the bottom of the second with
Joshua Matanich (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln) on base from a walk
Peyton Lindmark (Bettendorf, Iowa / Pleasant Valley) tripled to cut the Cal Tech lead in half.
The Beavers answered back by scoring one run to now hold a three-run lead. The Norse made a pitching change with
Kaleb Thiesse (Kasson, Minn. / Kasson-Mantorville) now on the mound. He threw one pitch to get a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the half inning.
Cullen Stamp tripled to right field giving Luther a scoring opportunity. Sebben hit a single to bring him home. It was once again just a two-run lead for Cal Tech.
The Beavers couldn't do much in the top half of the fourth inning so it was up to Luther to tie the game up. It all started with infield single by
Gabe Atkins (Castle Pines, Colo. / Rock Canyon) and Lindmark earned a walk. With one out
Mark Prince (Encinitas, Calif. / La Costa Canyon) hit a sac fly deep into center field earning two RBIs tying the game at 5-5.
Cal Tech wasn't a fan of the lead so they blew the game open scoring five runs in the fifth, three runs in the sixth and another five in the top of the seventh. Luther tried to bounce back in the bottom of the seventh. The leadoff hitter Stamp hit another triple which Sebben drove in with his single on the infield.
Charlie Rubendall (Minneapolis, Minn. / DeLaSalle) followed with a double into center field. Matanich had the final hit of the game for Luther and also drove in a run off his single. But the Beavers took the game 18-8.
TOP NORSE
- Noah Sebben (Moline, Ill. / Moline) was 3-4 with three hits, one run and two RBIs. And Charlie Rubendall (Minneapolis, Minn. / DeLaSalle) also had two RBIs with a single and a double.
UP NEXT
The Norse will finally have their home opener against Nebraska Wesleyan on Friday, March 24
th to open the American Rivers Conference season. First pitch will be at 3:00 p.m. CT for the first game of the three-game series.
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