DECORAH, Iowa – On a breezy Friday afternoon the Luther Baseball took care of the Strom for the 4-1 win to open the three-game series. While it was a low scoring affair the Norse found ways to score. The pitching combination of Harry Blum (Fridley, Minn. / Fridley) and Kaleb Thiesse (Kasson, Minn. / Kasson-Mantorville) shutdown the Storm keeping them to just ten hits and a combined nine strikeouts. Luther improves to 15-8 overall and 8-0 in A-R-C action.
 
BLUM AND THIESSE
After two scoreless innings the Norse finally cracked the game open. With Noah Sebben (Moline, Ill. / Moline) and Aiden Michna (Moline, Ill. / Moline) already on with singles and two out. The Storm filled the bases with a walk given to Joshua Matanich. Gabe Atkins (Castle Pines, Colo. / Rock Canyon) was hit by pitch which gave Luther the opening run of the game. Will Heithoff (Winterset, Iowa / Winterset) followed up with a single sending another run home. Harry Blum (Fridley, Minn. / Fridley) and the defense kept holding the Strom getting any further than a single.
 
In the bottom of the seventh the Norse would add insurance runs. Mark Prince (Encinitas, Calif. / La Costa Canyon) and Cullen Stamp (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata) used back-to-back singles to get on base. With Prince on third Sebben hit his second single of the game earning an RBI to bring Prince around. On the play Stamp was out at second on a fielder's choice for the first out of the inning. Charlie Rubendall (Minneapolis, Minn. / DeLaSalle) used a single to get on and advance Sebben to second. He was followed by Michna who nearly drove his single into the same spot as the last hit. Once again, the Storm used the fielder's choice to get Rubendall at second. With Matanich at the plate batting Simpson tried to pick of Michna at first which gave the chance for Sebben to come sliding into home. That gave the Norse a 4-0 lead at the end of the half inning.
 
Top of the eighth the Storm would score their first run of the game. With two singles given up back-to-back he'd give way to AJ Lee (Minneapolis, Minn. / The Blake School). But Lee was quickly after he gave up a single which scored the first run for Simpson. Who were now just down by three runs. Then Kaleb Thiesse (Kasson, Minn. / Kasson-Mantorville) came in to relieve Lee and made an impact from the first pitch that he threw. But Simpson would hit into a double play as a ball flew out to Gabe Atkins in left field. He caught it and threw it right on the money to Peyton Lindmark (Bettendorf, Iowa / Pleasant Valley) who got the tag at home. Thiesse then threw a strikeout to end the inning.
 
Final inning of the game, with one out and two runners on Thiesse used two strikeouts to close down the Storm taking game one of the three-game series by a score of 4-1. Thiesse gets the save on the mound while Blum would pick up his fourth win of the season.
 
TOP NORSE

• Harry Blum (Fridley, Minn. / Fridley) improves his record to 4-2 on the season which pitching seven of the nine innings. He only gave up one run, seven hits with six strikeouts.
• Kaleb Thiesse (Kasson, Minn. / Kasson-Mantorville) picks up his third save of the season by shutting down the Storm in two innings of work.

 
UP NEXT
Luther hosts Simpson for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 8^th with game one at 12:00 p.m. CT followed by game two at approximately 3:00 p.m. CT in Decorah.
 
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