April 3, 2018 By Chris Varney
The Grinnell College baseball team got their Midwest Conference season off to a strong start with three wins against Cornell this past weekend. On Saturday, the Pioneer bats exploded in 16-4 and 14-4 blowout wins versus the Rams at Pioneer Park. The following day, the two teams went to extra innings before GC survived 8-7 in 9 innings. It was too cold Sunday afternoon to continue playing so the 4th game was made up yesterday and Grinnell got their first loss 5-3.
Overall, the Pioneers offense was the story. Junior Andrew Schults and Senior Sam Galanek hit one and two in the order and went a combined .474 (18 for 38) with 11 runs. Schults was 10-18 with 6 runs, 2 doubles, and 2 RBI. Galanek was 8-20 with a HR, 5 runs, and 10 RBI. Head Coach Tim Hollibaugh might move Galanek to the three spot in the order because Freshman Quinton McNitt emerged against Cornell, going 8-12 with 4 runs and 4 RBI in the bottom of the line-up. McNitt’s numbers earned him the Midwest Conference Player of the Year award this week. Hollibaugh says McNitt might now fit between Schults and Galanek giving Grinnell a tough 1-2-3 punch at the top.
Pitching continues to be a work in progress, according to Hollibaugh. At the beginning of the season, the Pioneers hopeful rotation was Sam LaMotte, Sam Lopez, Andrew Mack, and Charles Carr. Only LaMotte has been pitching on a regular basis. Carr and Mack are both still recovering from injuries — Mack did not pitch this weekend and Carr got the win in relief on Sunday but gave up 3 earned runs in 1 2/3 IP. Lopez, meanwhile, is out for the season.
Hollibaugh has turned to a bunch of freshmen and sophomores to fill in in the rotation. Freshman Brock Weirather went 7 innings on Sunday and allowed 2 runs, 1 earned on 6 hits. Freshman Daniel Lubelfield struggled in his start on Saturday but Freshman Rick Thompson picked him up with 6 plus solid innings, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits with 7 strikeouts. Sophomore Jacob Morsch and Freshman Ryan Chang pitched on Monday and did well. Hollibaugh says he could have 6 or 7 starters with solid experience by the team the conference tournament comes and that depth will probably determine this team’s fate in the end.
Grinnell College (7-10, 3-1) is currently tied with Monmouth College (12-6-1, 3-1) for first place in the Midwest Conference South Division. The Pioneers will travel to Illinois College (8-6, 0-0) for four games this weekend, two on Saturday and two on Sunday.