NORTHEAST SWEEPS IOWA LAKES BEHIND JENSEN’S THREE HOMERS

ESTHERVILLE, Iowa – The Northeast Community College baseball team traveled to Estherville, Iowa Wednesday for their first ICCAC series on the road this season. The Hawks swept the Lakers by final scores of 13-1 and 12-11 to pick up their first conference series victory of the year.

Northeast (17-12, 3-3 ICCAC) was led on the afternoon by Kale Jensen (Central City, Neb.) as the sophomore launched his ninth homer of the season in Game 1 before blasting home runs 10 and 11 in Game 2. Jensen picked up five RBIs during the day and improved his batting average, which already was at an impressive .440 entering the series.

Cooper Tessendorf (Columbus, Neb.) went the distance in the first matchup of the day to pick up the win for the Hawks while seven pitchers combined to complete the winning effort for Northeast in Game 2. The Hawks trailed late in the going during the nightcap before a seven-run eighth inning was enough to put Northeast on top. Iowa Lakes rallied to force extra innings, but Giuseppe Salvatore (Johnstown, Colo.) pushed the go-ahead run across the plate in the 11th inning with a sacrifice fly to secure the sweep.

STAT SHEET GAME 1:

Kale Jensen (Central City, Neb.): 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI

Carter Noakes (Dannebrog, Neb.): 1-2, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB

Cooper Tessendorf (W) (Columbus, Neb.): 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 K

STAT SHEET GAME 2:

Kale Jensen (Central City, Neb.): 2-3, 2 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB

Giuseppe Salvatore (Johnstown, Colo.): 1-4, R, 2 RBI

Jay Coughlin (W) (Omaha, Neb.): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 K

HEAR FROM THE HAWKS COACH:

Head Baseball Coach Marcus Clapp on the incredible start to the season for Kale Jensen:

"Kale is a good player who works extremely hard," Clapp said. "His dedication to get better is paying off."

Clapp on what he wants to see from his team before their weekend series:

"I want the pitchers to quit giving up so many free bases," Clapp said. "That would be a good thing to fix right now."

UP NEXT:

The Hawks will host No. 5 Southeastern Community College in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Friday at Norfolk Veterans Memorial Baseball Field in Norfolk.

HAWKS HAPPENINGS:

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