Baseball sweeps Cornell, brings IIAC record to .500

The Luther baseball team swept Cornell College (Iowa) in their final home stand of the season, bringing their IIAC record to .500 and increasing their chance of making the conference tournament.

In game one, Cody Hyland (‘10) (6-3) pitched a two-hit complete game shut out, leading the Norse to a 4-0 victory. Hyland faced 24 batters, walked one and struck out six.

Mark Weber (‘10) (1-for-3) drove in three runs, one in the third and two in the sixth with his sixth double of the year.

In game two, Jeff Riddle (‘10) went 2-for-4 at the plate and also threw a three-hit complete game shut out, leading the Norse to an 8-0 nightcap victory. The victory was his fourth of the year against three losses.

Chris Reynolds (‘12) and Matt Bruhn (‘11) also produced multiple hits. Reynolds was 3-for-4 and scored twice, while Bruhn was 2-for-3 and scored once. Ben Schott (‘10) drove in two runs during Luther’s five-run third inning.

In game three, seniors Riddle, Schott, Weber, Zack Topping and Darin Schneider led the Norse to a 7-6 victory over Cornell College in the final home game of their careers. The victory gave the Norse a sweep of the three-game series.

Riddle (3-for-5), Schott (2-for-3), Webber (3-for-5) and Topping (1-for-2) combined for nine of Luther’s 14 hits. This foursome also drove in four of Luther’s seven runs.

With the score tied at 6-6 entering the bottom of the ninth, Weber produced a walk-off single that brought Riddle home from third for the game winner. Riddle paced the squad, scoring three times in the afternoon. Weber’s RBI was his second of the game.

Schneider got the start on the mound and pitched five solid innings. He left the game with a 5-1 lead after he allowed one run on five hits, walked two and struck out six.

Augie Lindmark (‘12) (1-0) threw the final 2 2/3 innings and was credited with the win.

The sweep gives the Norse an Iowa Conference record of 10-10, 22-14 overall. Cornell falls to 2-18 in league play and 4-26 for the season. Luther also took another solid step towards making the six-team IIAC Tournament, which will be played May 13-15 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.