(Fort Wayne, IN) – Concordia baseball traveled to Saint Francis for a pair of 7-inning non-conference games on Friday and Saturday. The Cardinals entered with a 4-2 record while the Cougars came in 1-4. CUAA swept Saint Francis on both days to add 4 more wins to their overall record.
Game 1 – CUAA 6, Saint Francis 4
Jacob Clark (SR/Pinckney, MI) started on the mound for Concordia, striking out 5 batters in 3 innings of work. The game remained scoreless through the first 2 innings. The Cardinals got on the board first with a run in the top of the 3rd inning. Blaine Milheim (SR/Eaton Rapids, MI) drilled a single and Matthew Botti (JR/Decatur, MI) beat out the throw to home plate to score.
Saint Francis fought back with 3 runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-1 lead. Alex Phillips (FR/Tucson, AZ) entered the game to pitch in the 4th inning and quickly recorded three outs.
Concordia reclaimed the lead with 4 runs in the 5th inning. Blaine Milheim recorded his second RBI of the day, hitting a single to drive in Vann Acker (JR/Eaton Rapids, MI). Grant Steinborn (JR/Flushing, MI) hit a 2-RBI double which scored Milheim and Ethan Vosburg (SR/Climax, MI), and Jordan Sherman (FR/Homer, MI) used an RBI double to score pinch runner Lucas McNinch (SO/Belding, MI). CUAA led 5-3 after the 5th.
Saint Francis got one run back in the bottom of the 5th. Tyson Kleinfelter (FR/Perrysburg, OH) came in to finish out the inning, recording a strikeout and a flyout to limit the Cougars to one run.
Concordia added an insurance run in the top of the 7th as Dylan Stienke used a sacrifice groundout to allow Blaine Milheim to reach home. Tyson Kleinfelter finished with no hits allowed in 2.2 innings of work and was credited with the save in the 6-4 CUAA win.
Game 2 – CUAA 7, Saint Francis 3
The Cardinals came out swinging with 6 runs in the top of the 1st inning. Blaine Milheim doubled over the shortstop's head, driving in Vann Acker. Jordan Sherman drew a walk with the bases loaded and Chris Lowe (JR/DeWitt, MI) used a sacrifice fly to score Blaine Milheim. Maxwell Hecht (FR/Holland, MI) hit an RBI double to score Sherman, Cole Southworth (JR/Decatur, MI) hit a sac fly scoring Preston Sherman (JR/Homer, MI), and Hecht later reached home on an error.
Grant Steinborn started at pitcher in game 2 for Concordia, scattering 4 hits and striking out 2 batters. Steinborn pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the 2nd inning, keeping the game scoreless.
Adam Willinger (SR/Flat Rock, MI) and Billy Blair (SO/St. Charles, MI) combined to finish the game at pitcher for Concordia after the 4th inning. Saint Francis scored 2 runs in the 5th and 1 more in the 6th to cut the Concordia lead to 6-3. The Cardinals added an insurance run in the 7th as Maxwell Hecht was able to reach home on a passed ball and an error. Billy Blair finished with 3 strikeouts and was credited with the save in a 7-3 Concordia win.
Game 3 – CUAA 4, Saint Francis 2 (8 innings)
Jimmy McKane (JR/Saint Johns, MI) received the nod at pitcher for the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, pitching 7 innings with 2 strikeouts. Saint Francis scored first to take a 1-0 lead after the 1st inning, but the Cardinals tied the game in the 2nd when Matthew Botti hit an RBI triple to score RJ Bortle (JR/Hartland, MI).
Saint Francis scored again in the 3rd inning to take a 2-1 lead, but the Cardinals tied the game again in the top of the 4th. Maxwell Hecht hit a 2-out RBI single which allowed RJ Bortle to score his second run of the day.
No runs were scored from the 5th through 7th innings. The Cardinal defense threw out a Saint Francis runner at home plate in the 7th inning to keep the game tied.
The game headed to extra innings and Concordia went ahead with 2 runs in the top of the 8th. Grant Steinborn was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing Vann Acker home. RJ Bortle then hit a sacrifice fly which scored Ethan Vosburg to put CUAA up 4-2.
Kane Bourbina (JR/Saginaw, MI) came in to pitch in the 8th inning, striking out 2 of the 3 batters he faced. Bourbina earned the save and the Cardinals came away with the victory.
Game 4 – CUAA 8, Saint Francis 3
Brendan Lyons (JR/Woodhaven, MI) started on the mound for the Cardinals in the final game of the weekend. Concordia scored 2 runs in the top of the 1st. Blaine Milheim used a sacrifice fly to score Vann Acker, and an RBI groundout from RJ Bortle allowed Ethan Vosburg to reach home.
The Cardinals turned a double play in the bottom half of the 1st, and the CUAA bats added another run in the top of the 2nd. Ethan Vosburg drove in Preston Sherman with an RBI single to make it a 3-0 lead for Concordia.
Saint Francis scored 2 runs in the 4th inning to cut the Concordia lead to 3-2, but the Cardinals answered with 3 runs in the top of the 5th. RJ Bortle hit into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, allowing Ethan Vosburg to score. Chris Lowe then drew a walk which scored Blaine Milheim, and Maxwell Hecht was hit by a pitch forcing Kainan Bayn (FR/Zeeland, MI) home. CUAA took a 6-2 lead after the 5th.
Elijah Abenth (SO/Saginaw, MI) came in to pitch in the 5th and recorded 3 strikeouts in the inning. Both teams scored a run in the 6th as Kainan Bayn hit an RBI single to drive in Blaine Milheim. Matthew Sciacca (FR/Pickerington, OH) and Kane Bourbina combined to pitch for the Cardinals in the bottom of the 6th, limiting Saint Francis to one run.
A solo home run from Maxwell Hecht in the top of the 7th gave Concordia one more run. Timothy Pomaville (FR/Warren, MI) finished off the game at pitcher for the Cardinals in the bottom of the 7th, and CUAA earned an 8-3 win to sweep the weekend series.
Concordia baseball improves to 8-2 after the weekend. The team will play their next games when they travel to Roosevelt University on March 2 and 3 for another pair of 7-inning non-conference games. The first pitch of each doubleheader is set for 1pm on both days.
