ESTHERVILLE - The 18th-ranked Iowa Central baseball team opened the month with a sweep over Iowa Lakes here on Thursday afternoon.

Scores were 5-2 and 4-3 in favor of the Tritons.

Matthew Wilkinson went the distance in the opener, striking out nine over seven innings. He allowed just five hits and walked two batters.

At the plate, Devin Hurdle drove in three and stole a base, and Ben DeTaeye had an RBI and a steal. DeTaeye had two hits and scored a run with Gavin Baker scoring twice and Ryan Wickman picking up two steals.

Wickman and Jack Sievers each scored a run for Iowa Central (15-7 overall, 7-3 in ICCAC).

In the second game, Wickman and DeTaeye collected two hits each with Brock Johnson, DeTaeye and Riley Reed driving in runs. Payton Leonard picked up the win on the mound, striking out three over five innings.

Johnson and Kai Reum finished it off, pitching four innings and striking out six combined. Reum earned the save.

"All of those guys did a great job of throwing strikes and putting up zeros," Iowa Central head coach Eric Stein said. "At the plate, we manufactured runs and were able to come out of here with a couple of wins."

The Tritons return to action on Friday and Saturday, hosting Ellsworth at Ed Barbour Field.

-By Dana Becker