photo by Eric Johnson

Riverland pitcher Brandon Huhn delivers against Anoka-Ramsey Saturday afternoon at Dick Seltz Field on the campus of Riverland Community College.

Pitching, defense strong, while offense remains inconsistent

By David Richards (Contact) | Austin Daily Herald

Published Monday, April 6, 2009

The Riverland Community College baseball team continues to deliver solid pitching and good defense, while struggling with an inconsistent offense.

The Blue Devils split in two games Saturday at home, topping Anoka-Ramsey 4-1 before falling to Central Lakes 6-4 in non-conference games. Sunday’s scheduled contests against Northland and Mesabi were canceled.

The win and loss brings Riverland’s record to 12-5 as the Blue Devils travel to Carleton today for a doubleheader.

Against Anoka-Ramsey, pitcher Brandon Huhn struck out 10 in seven innings of work, while giving up one run on five hits for the Blue Devils.

Zach Vlietstra produced a single for Riverland, while Andy Behnke and Brian Voigt each contributed doubles to go with the team’s error-free defensive performance.

“Our strength without question is our pitching and our defense,” said Riverland head coach Scott Koenigs. “We need more guys swinging the way they are capable of swinging.”

Against Central Lakes in frigid weather, the Blue Devils fell in eight innings, despite a three for three effort at the plate by Voigt.

“Give Central Lakes credit, they put the bat on the ball,” Koenigs said. “We didn’t hit the ball the way we are capable of hitting.”

Dustin Fritz hit a single, and Mitch Kaplan added a double for Riverland.