By Herald staff (Contact) | Austin Daily Herald

Originally published 10:26 p.m., March 16, 2009
Updated 10:26 p.m., March 16, 2009

The Riverland baseball team beat Alfred State College of New York 7-6, then let some of its reserves play in an 8-5 loss to team Ontario Monday at Cocoa, Florida.

In the opener, the Blue Devils (4-1 overall) led 7-3 after three innings but didn’t score the rest of the way as Alfred State scored once in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to pull closer.

“They kept sneaking back in it. We had a little control issues on the mound and we stopped hitting,” RCC head coach Scott Koenigs said.

Shane Lange of St. Charles had the hit of the day with a solo homer over the 375-foot left field fence to lead off the second inning.

“It was a bomb,” Koenigs said. “It was all the way out of here.”

In the loss to team Ontario, RCC played six freshman. Still, they loaded the bases in the seventh and Zach Vlietstra of Rapid City, SD ripped a shot that would’ve made it a one-run game. But Ontario snagged it to end the Blue Devils’ chances.

“It was a great play and they robbed us,” Koenigs said.

Riverland left the bases loaded a couple of times, but Koenigs was glad to get his reserves in.

“When we come down here, it’s an opportunity to play and evaluate everyone,” he said. “This one didn’t mean as much because they’re not a junior college.”

Riverland’s pitching ace and starting shortstop Brandon Huhn didn’t play much on Monday as he popped his non-throwing shoulder early in the first game. Huhn is day-to-day, and Koenigs will take a cautious approach with him.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

Alfred 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 6 12 0

RCC 3 2 2 0 0 0 X 7 8 3

RCC pitching: Zach Vlietstra (W), 5 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 3 K; Alex Buckentine (S), 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 K Nate Steenblock, 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 HBP

RCC hitting: Kyle Starkey, 2-for-3, RBI, R; Shawn Pape, 2-for-3, 2 RBIs, R; Andy Behnke, 1-for-2, triple, 2 RBIs, R; Chris Lindemann, 1-for-2, R, BB; Kyle Pilcher, 1-for-3, double, R

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E

Ont. 2 0 0 1 3 2 2 8 14 1

RCC 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 5 7 2

RCC pitching: Shane Lange (L), 6 IP, 13 H, 2 BB, 6 R, 3 ER, 2 K; Kyle Maloney, 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER

RCC hitting: Derek Hahn, 2-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB; Derek Emanuel, 1-for-2, R; Brian Voigt, 1-for-3; Dustin Fritz, 1-for-2, RBI; Kyle Starkey, 1-for-3, RBI; Zach Vlietstra, 1-for-4, R, SB