(Ann Arbor, MI) – Concordia baseball continued their WHAC season with a home doubleheader against Indiana Tech on Monday afternoon. The Cardinals came into the matchups 16-8 and a perfect 3-0 in the WHAC while the Warriors entered 12-14 overall and 1-1 in conference. CUAA picked up another pair of conference wins in a 2-game sweep.
Game 1 – CUAA 5, IT 2
Joe Tany started on the mound in game 1, pitching 8 innings and recording 3 strikeouts. The game remained scoreless through the first two innings.
Concordia opened scoring with a 4-run 3rd inning. Dylan Steinke hit an RBI double to drive in Adam Purdy for the game's first run. Ryan Kotecki was then able to steal home base off a double-steal with Victor Diaz going to second base. Calvin Syrjala capped off the inning by crushing a 2-run homer that also drove in Diaz.
Indiana Tech broke the shutout with a run in the top of the 4th. The Cardinals countered in the bottom of the 5th when Calvin Syrjala hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to score Dylan Steinke.
The Concordia defense used a pickoff at third base in the 6th to escape a bases-loaded jam. Indiana Tech scored a run in the 8th, but Ryan Kotecki was able to close out the game in the 9th with 2 strikeouts to secure the 5-2 win.
Game 2 – CUAA 8, IT 0
Tyson Kleinfelter started at pitcher for game 2, recording 6 strikeouts in 7 innings of work. After two scoreless innings, the Cardinals struck first in the bottom of the 3rd. Jimmy Wressel led off with a double, pinch runner Joe Jones advanced to third on a groundout from Adam Purdy, and Jones eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Concordia exploded in the 4th with a 7-run inning. Calvin Syrjala scored on a fielder's choice situation and Chris Lowe reached home on an error. Jimmy Wressel used an RBI groundout to score Vann Acker and Victor Diaz rifled a 2-RBI single over the second baseman's head to drive in Adam Purdy and Preston Sherman. Grant Steinborn singled to score Dylan Steinke and Chris Lowe capped off the inning with an RBI double driving in Caleb Chamberlain.
Tyson Kleinfelter pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the 5th. Brandon Decker came in to pitch in the 8th inning, recording 3 strikeouts. Concordia finished off the shutout and claimed the 8-0 win to sweep the series.
Concordia will play their next game on Saturday, April 3 when they host Rochester for a doubleheader. First pitch begins at 1pm.
