Blue Devils hit seven homers in sweep of Hibbing
Published 7:20 pm Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Blue Devils let their bats do the talking against Hibbing — and they spoke very loud.
Riverland Community College batted through the order four times on the day, rattled off seven homers, 14 extra base hits and eclipsed 40 runs in two five-inning victories over Hibbing (0-10 overall) in the baseball home opener at Seltz Field Thursday.
RCC (10-2 overall) took full advantage of a stiff breeze blowing out as it won the first game against Hibbing 22-1 and took the nightcap 19-0.
RCC went scoreless in the first inning of the first game, but Reece Steckler laced a two-run double down the right field line and Kyle Young drilled a two-run homer into left center field to get the onslaught started.
Steckler, a freshman from Rapid City, would add two homers to center field and finish with seven RBIs in the first game.
“They were throwing the ball up and I just kind of capitalized on it,” he said. “(Scoring like this) helps our confidence. Everyone was hitting it and everyone was hitting it hard. It didn’t matter where they threw, we hit it.”
Brian Voigt picked up the win in the first game on the mound as he went three innings and allowed just an infield single. Voigt used his slider to strike out the first five hitters he faced and he finished with seven strikeouts.
“He was cruising right through,” RCC head coach Scott Koenigs said. “Brian was in cruise control and I want to use him if I need to close out a game on Saturday.”
While three home runs was impressive feat for the first game, RCC belted four homers in the second game. Voigt, Shawn Pape, Kyal Williams, and Renne Araujo all went deep in the second contest.
“We had line drives all over the field and we really did a nice job of adjusting at the plate. When they brought it into the strike zone we hit it hard,” Koenigs said. “A lot of times when you face slower pitchers, it throws your timing completely off and it takes about five inning to get on track.”
Voigt, a sophomore from Southland, finished 5-for-6 Thursday and he already has 11 extra base hits this season for RCC, which is ranked No. 9 in Division III.
“I’m seeing the ball really well,” Voigt said. “We worked on the swing all summer and fall and got it better than it was before. It’s showing.”
RCC started six freshmen in the second game and they all got the job done. Williams, who is from Australia had a three run blast to center field and he finished with five RBIs in the second game and freshman Tyler Jones, who is from Rapid City, allowed just two hits and a walk in a five inning victory.
Steckler said the Blue Devils are blending well already.
“There’s good team camaraderie here,” he said. “We’re all really good friends and it’s nice to know a couple of guys on the team. That gets us going real well.”
RCC gave a lot of players experience in the wins as 13 different players recorded at least one hit on the day.
Hibbing 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 4 1
RCC 0 6 10 6 X — 22 15 0
RCC pitching: Brian Voigt (W), 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 7 K; Dylan Monson, 1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER; Aaron Fisher, 1 IP , 1 BB, 0 R
RCC hitting: Shawn Pape, 1-for-3, 2 RBIs, R; Kyle Young, 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBIs, R; Voigt, 2-for-3, double, triple; Kyal Williams, 2-for-3, RBI, R; Dustin Fritz, 0-for-1, 2 BBs, 2 R; Derek Hahn, 2-for-2, double, RBI, R; Jeff Huth, 2-for-3, double, 4 RBIs, 3 R, BB; Reece Steckler, 3-for-4, 2 HR, double, 7 RBIs, 3 R; Winston Smith, 0-for-2, BB, R; Josh Bamrick, 0-for-1, R; Marqui Ransome, 0-for-1; Kris Caldwell, BB, 3 R; Drew Madsen, 1-for-1, RBI, R; George Hanson, BB, RBI, R; Matt Cheesman, 0-for-1, R, BB
Hibbing pitching: Evan Hauta (L), 2 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 6 ER
Hibbing hitting: Tim Nylund, 1-for-2; Dustin Pleshe, 1-for-2; Aaron Kritz, 1-for-2, double, RBI; Ben Tibbetts, 1-for-2
Hibbing 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2 0
RCC 5 9 4 1 X — 19 18 1
RCC pitching: Tyler Jones (W), 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 0 R, 2 K
RCC hitting: Fisher, 1-for-2, 2 R; Pape, 2-for-4, HR, triple, 4 RBIs, 2 R; Voigt, 3-for-3, HR, RBI, 3 R, SB; Williams, 3-for-4, HR, double, 5 RBIs, 2 R; Renne Araujo, 3-for-4, HR, double, 2 RBIs, 3 R; Young, 2-for-2, double, 3 RBIs, R; Ransome, 2-for-2, 2 R, SB, BB; Steckel, 0-for-2, RBI, 2 BBs; Fritz, 1-for-2, 2 RBIs, R; Mitch Jaeger, 1-for-1
Hibbing pitching: Chris Novotny (L), 1 IP, 9 H, BB, 8 ER, K
Hibbing hitting: Nylund, 2-for-2