(Grand Rapids, MI) Concordia Baseball was back in action Thursday afternoon for day two of the WHAC Tournament. The Cardinals won the coin toss and were the home team against #3 seeded Indiana Tech at Cornerstone University's FIeld. Fighting through wind and a day filled with rain, the Cardinals came from behind for a huge victory to win 4-3 on a Kyle Hebner walkoff single; pushing them to the WHAC Tournament's semifinal game.
Bryon Mane started on the mound for CUAA in their only game of the day. The senior went four innings allowing three runs, with only two being earned. He passed the ball to fellow senior Kenneth (Dave) Rozmys, and he pitched with something to prove as he went the final five innings allowing just one hit and shutout the Warriors for the rest of the game.
In the top of the second inning a bunt from the Warriors scored one on a throwing error and a sac fly put them up 2-0. The Cardinals would respond quickly when Harrison Ryan hit a line drive to the left fielder with the bases loaded for a sac fly to make the score 2-1. A Warrior single in the fourth inning would make the score 3-1 and give Indiana Tech a huge advantage.
Alex Piotrowski responded in the bottom of the fourth inning with an RBI single to score Logan Hylek and put CUAA back down one. Both sides would go silent until the eighth inning when Derek Hebner launched a home run with two outs over the batter's eye in center field to knot the game at 3 a piece. Rozmys responded with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth inning, turning the ball over to the Cardinal bats. Gus Simon answered the call with a double down the line to start the inning. Intentional walks to Logan Hylek and Harrison Ryan set the stage for some late inning heroics with the bases loaded. Pinch hitter Kyle Hebner stepped to the plate and sent the first pitch he saw over the left fielder's head to score Simon and give CUAA a massive tournament win!
The Cardinals are back in action tomorrow at Meijer Sports Complex for a matchup with #1 seeded Northwestern Ohio at 6pm!