(Ann Arbor, MI) – Concordia baseball hosted Rochester for a WHAC conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals entered with a 19-10 record (5-1 WHAC) while the Warriors came in 3-10 overall (2-4 WHAC). Rochester took game one 9-3, but the Cardinals exploded for 17 runs in a 17-2 game 2 win to earn the split.
Game 1 – RU 9, CUAA 3
Joe Tany started on the mound in game 1, pitching 5.1 innings. Tany induced groundouts for all three batters in the top of the 1st and the Cardinals struck first in the bottom half of the inning. Victor Diaz used a sacrifice fly to drive in Adam Purdy for a 1-0 lead.
Rochester tied the game with a run in the 2nd. The game remained tied 1-1 until the 6th inning when the Warriors used a 4-run inning to take a 5-1 lead. Concordia got a run back in the bottom of the 6th on an RBI double from Calvin Syrjala which scored Grant Steinborn.
Rochester added a run in the 7th and 8th innings. The Cardinals converted in the bottom of the 8th when Preston Sherman hit an RBI single to score Calvin Syrjala. However, Rochester was able to hold Concordia for the remainder of the game and handed the team a 9-3 loss.
Game 2 – CUAA 17, RU 2 (7 innings)
Tyson Kleinfelter started game 2 on the mound, racking up 10 strikeouts in 6 innings. Jimmy Wressel started off a 5-run 1st inning by crushing a solo home run. Preston Sherman hit a bases-loaded single to drive in Chris Lowe and Jarrett Batanian drew a bases-loaded walk to score Victor Diaz. Calvin Syrjala reached home on a balk and Joe Jones capped off the inning with a sacrifice fly to score Preston Sherman.
Concordia extended their lead in the 2nd when Vann Acker made it home on an error. The Cardinals continued the onslaught with a 7-run 3rd inning, started by a 3-run homer from RJ Bortle. Victor Diaz hit a 2-RBI double scoring Chris Lowe and Vann Acker and then later scored on a wild pitch. Calvin Syrjala finished the inning with an RBI groundout to drive in Grant Steinborn, putting CUAA up 13-0.
Jarrett Batanian scored on an error to add another run in the 4th. The Cardinals continued to find success on offense in the 6th when RJ Bortle hit an RBI double to score Caleb Chamberlain. Chris Lowe added a 2-RBI single that drove in both Bortle and Jarrett Batanian.
Alex Phillips and Elijah Abenth combined to finish out the 7th inning for Concordia. While Rochester broke the shutout with 2 runs, Abenth was able to secure the final strikeout to clinch the 17-2 win in 7 innings via the mercy rule.
Concordia will return to action on Wednesday when they host UM Dearborn for a non-conference double header.
