A 12-hit, 11-run outburst broke Riverland’s winless streak to start the season in an 11-1, six-inning rout of Bethany Lutheran College in MCCC Southern Division baseball action Sunday in Austin.

The Blue Devils (1-5, 1-3) scored in all six innings of Sunday’s nightcap, including a two-run home run by Austin graduate Jamie Morrison to end the game in the bottom of the sixth. His first homer of the season scored Josh Ramaker to put the Devils up by 10, stopping the game due to the 10-run rule.

Riverland lost the first game of the doubleheader, 5-3, as BLC scored three unearned runs in the top of the seventh. AHS grad Clint Ripley (0-2) suffered the loss.

&uot;We’re starting to come around now,&uot; said Riverland coach Dave Meyer. &uot;We played very well until that seventh inning, and then the fundamentals kind of broke down.

&uot;In the second game they went out there and played ball. It was a very impressive game for the guys. They really needed to have a breakout game, it was only a matter of time."

Twelve hits was a season-high for the Devils. Josh Kunze (AHS) went 5-for-7 in the doubleheader to raise his season average to .632. He was 3-4 with two doubles and an RBI in the second game, and drove in two of Riverland’s three runs in the first game.

Jeff Geisler (1-0) went the distance on the mound for the 11-1 win in game two, allowing only three hits and one earned run. He needed just 63 pitches to complete the outing — Riverland’s first win of the season.

&uot;He had them off-balance the whole game,&uot; Meyer said. &uot;(Geisler) mixed his pitches very well.&uot;

Six different hitters drove in runs for Riverland, who hosts Rochester Community and Technical College in a rescheduled doubleheader today at 2 p.m.

Jeff Kvam (AHS) and Sean Breslin each had two hits, while Michael Nastav and Derek Bonser each had two RBIs. Morrison drove in three runs, including the game-ending pair with his home run.

Nastav’s solo home run — his first of the season — gave Riverland a 3-2 lead heading into the seventh inning of game one, but two walks and two errors led to three Bethany Lutheran runs and the eventual victory.

Ripley struck out five, allowing six hits and three total walks while surrendering only two earned runs.