NEW ULM, Minn. --- Crown Baseball continued their season on Monday, defeating the Martin Luther Knights 27-0 in a scheduled single nine-inning non-conference contest. While that was the schedule, the game ended early as the Storm enacted the 10-run rule (well, doubled it), ending the matchup in seven innings. Crown's 27 runs is a new NCAA-era institutional record, well past their 22-run mark set in Florida against D'Youville in 2019. This feat wasn't the only record broken, as Mason Brock tied the Storm single-game runs record with five. The Storm's streak of incredible weather continued, with the day reaching nearly 80 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area.
After a scoreless first inning, the Storm scored ten or more runs in the second and third inning to take a commanding 21-0 lead. They continued scoring at a reasonable pace throughout the rest of play to take the game 27-0.
The Storm pitched a shutout and only allowed five total hits as a team, striking out 16 of 26 batters faced. Seven pitchers each went a single inning, with Eric Newman starting on the mound. Jacob Van Dam followed Newman, and after that, the order went Aidan Volk-Specht, Dylan Balfour, Nick Schroedle, Kevin Golden, and Caleb Yowell. Newman, Schroedle, Golden, and Yowell all struck out the side.
Offensively, the Storm needed only 19 hits to score the 27 runs. Seth Betts led Crown's way with six RBIs and was only a double away from a cycle. Betts may have gotten there, but he was walked once and hit by two pitches. Sophomore Rhys Dewick came through in a big way, with his second home run of the season being a grand slam. Betts and Dewick both had three hits in the contest, joined by first-year Mason Brock. Chad Herrera and Tristan Shoemaker both had three RBIs, joining the aforementioned trio. Kyle Schroedle, Crown's current OPS leader, didn't have much of a chance to swing the bat, walking four times.
The Storm are grooving at an optimal time as Crown will begin their conference season on Saturday, facing the St. Scholastica Saints. The Storm have never bested the Saints, but they also hadn't defeated Bethel University, Saint Mary's University, Augsburg University, and Concordia College, all accomplishments of this season.
