Baseball Rolls Past Clarke in Game Three of Series

CRETE, Neb. — Doane baseball used a big third inning and a balanced attack at the plate to roll past Clarke (Iowa) 14-2 in seven innings in game one of Friday's doubleheader at the Doane Ballfield Complex.

The Tigers (10-2) piled up 15 hits and launched three home runs, breaking the game open with an eight-run third to turn a 2-0 deficit into an 8-2 advantage. Clarke fell to 3-10.

Clarke struck first with two runs in the second, taking advantage of traffic on the bases and scoring once on a wild pitch before adding an RBI sacrifice by Eric Hebert.

Doane answered emphatically in the bottom half of the third. After loading the bases, Johnny Vulcano drove in two with a single up the middle to put the Tigers on the board. The floodgates opened from there as Max Harris and Grant Sommers followed with RBI hits, then Tanner Nelson ripped a two-run double down the left-field line. Jett Grossart capped the inning with an RBI single, and Carter Roth added an RBI double to finish the eight-run frame.

Sommers delivered the biggest line of the day, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, a three-run homer, and five RBIs. Grossart stuffed the stat sheet as well, going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, three RBIs, three runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base. Nelson went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Roth added a 2-for-3 day with a double and an RBI.

Doane continued to tack on, scoring two in the fifth on Grossart's two-run home run and adding four more in the sixth—highlighted by a leadoff solo homer from pinch hitter Thaden Wewel and Sommers' three-run blast to left-center.

On the mound, Gabe Rodriguez earned the win to move to 2-0, allowing two runs on one hit over five innings with four strikeouts. Josh Kearney worked a scoreless sixth, and Austin Oelke closed the door in the seventh.

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