The 18th-ranked Iowa Central baseball team cruised past Southwestern here Wednesday afternoon on a perfect spring day, 17-1 in seven innings.

Tyler Olson faced the minimum 15 batters over five innings of work for the Tritons (16-4 overall), striking out five. Olson did not walk a batter or allow a hit during his time on the mound.

Isaac Becker, Noah Susong and Jalen Martinez all connected on home runs, with Martinez driving in four runs and both Trey Morris and Becker three each.

Iowa Central has won 10 in a row overall.

"We've got some good, experienced players back, along with some transfers," said Iowa Central head coach Eric Stein. "That kind of gives us an edge in terms of knowing what we need to do out there."

The Tritons plated two runs in the first and 10 in the third to break the contest open. They added three runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth.

Olson needed just 44 pitches to get through five innings in his first collegiate start. Payton Leonard picked up two strikeouts in his inning on the mound and Anthony Esposito had one.

"It started with Tyler throwing strike," Stein said. "That's always easier to do when you are pitching with a lead, but you've still got to do it."

Max Holy and Evan Borst scored three runs each. Borst was 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBI, while Martinez and Jacob Barton each had two hits and two runs scored. Cael Boyd scored twice and stole a base.

The Tritons are set to host Minnesota West back here on Saturday. First pitch in the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.

-By Dana Becker