By Scott A. Kolb

Post-Bulletin, Austin MN 

There was a certain Southland Rebels presence evident in Friday's doubleheader sweep of Iowa Lakes Community College by the Riverland baseball team.

In the first game of the day at Seltz Field, the Riverland Blue Devils got an offensive lift from three home runs.

One of the long balls was hit by Derek Emanuel, who played for the Rebels last season in high school. Shawn Pape and Andy Behnke also went yard to lead a 10-0 romp in six innings.

The second game of the non-conference twinbill was like a flashback to the Rebels run to the Class A state championship game last year. Brian Voigt was on the mound, and Emanuel behind the plate at catcher.

This was a much tighter contest with the Blue Devils taking an early lead and then, hanging on in the latter innings for a 3-2 win. Voigt improved to 3-0 on the season with nine strikeouts to complete the sweep.

"It's nice to get another couple of wins, the pitchers did a good job," Riverland coach Scott Koenigs said. "Zach Prins gave us a solid start to win the first game, and Brian battled against some good hitters in the late game.

"Iowa lakes is a NJCAA Division II team, so this was a sweep of a tough opponent. The guys really hammered the ball in the first game. The second game was the first time we've faced a left-handed in a while, so the score was closer."

Power game

Emanuel hit a solo homer over the right-field fence in the first game. This set the stage for the power display by the Blue Devils.

Pape blasted a three-run homer as part of a four-run rally in the bottom of the fifth. Pape's blast made it 8-0 and the Blue Devils would end it in the next inning via the 10-run rule.

Behnke finished the offensive show with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. He would also add a clutch hit in the late game, which resulted in the decisive two runs.

"Some days, you just see the ball well and we really stuck it to them in the first game," Behnke said. "We expected them to play tougher in the second game, but we didn't let up."

Still unbeaten

Voigt blanked the Iowa Lakes offense for the first five innings.

It wasn't all fun and games as he ran into a bases-loaded jam with one out in the first inning. Voigt overcame his initial wildness and side-stepped trouble, but he would give up a couple of runs in the later innings.

"Brian was used to just throwing and being successful in high school, but now he's developing into a good pitcher," Koenigs said. "I had to go out there and tell him to relax, then he settled down and got the win."

The offense put Voigt on top with a three-run rally in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Voigt reached base on an error.

Kyle Starkey followed with a single to put the rally in motion. Brandon Huhn then stroked an RBI single to make it 1-0 as Voigt crossed the plate.

Another error on the Iowa Lakes infield move the runners into scoring position. Behnke capped the rally with a two-run single and that would be enough offensive support for Voigt.

Defensive gem

The visitors would get a run in the top of the sixth, but the defense prevented a bigger rally. The leadoff man for Iowa singled and then there was a triple.

Instead of scoring, the lead runner was cut down at the plate on a rifle relay. Zach Vlietstra started the defensive gem from center, hit Huhn on the cutoff, who then fired it home to Emanuel for the tag.

Despite giving up a later run in the sixth and another in the top of the seventh, Voigt closed it out. There was a man aboard in the seventh, when Voigt struck out the last batter for his third win.

"It was comfortable for me to throw to Derek, and he had a big doubleheader for us," Voigt said.

"After the trouble in the first inning, I started to relax and tried not to aim so much. They started jumping on my first pitch fastballs, so I mixed it up. I used my best curve of the game to get that last strikeout."

Riverland (22-7) plays a pair of Minnesota College Athletic Conference, South Division doubleheaders against Minnesota West this weekend.

RIVERLAND 10, IOWA LAKES 0

First game

Iowa Lakes 000 000 -- 0 5 1

Riverland 110 242 -- 10 10 0

Riverland: Derek Emanuel 2-2, walk, HR, 2 runs, RBI; Shawn Pape 2-3, HR, 2 runs, 3 RBIs; Andy Behnke 3-3, walk, 2B, HR, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Brian Voigt 1-2, walk; Shane Lange 0-2, run; Kyle Starkey 2-3, walk, 2B, run. WP: Zach Prins 6 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 1 BB, 1 K.

RIVERLAND 3, IOWA LAKES 2

Second game

Iowa Lakes 000 001 1 -- 2 7 2

Riverland 003 000 x -- 3 6 1

Riverland: Zach Vlietstra 1-3; Voigt 1-3, run, RBI; Starkey 1-2, walk, run; Brandon Huhn 2-3, 2B, RBI; Behnke 1-3, 2 RBIs. WP: Voigt 7 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 9 K.