(Dunbar, WV/Rio Grande, OH) - The Concordia Cardinals baseball team was on the road this weekend, playing in West Virginia on Saturday and Ohio on Sunday against the Rio Grande Red Storm. After splitting the opening day, the Cardinals would rally on Sunday for a sweep of the day and take three out of four on the weekend.

Game 1: Concordia 15, Rio Grande 4

Game one saw Joe Tany take the mound to start the series, and he would go 5 innings, surrendering just 2 runs and 7 hits as he brought home a win for the Cardinals. 

The Cardinals started off quickly, racking up five runs in the top of the 1^st. James (Jimmy) Wressel opened up the scoring with a single that drove in two runners. Aaron Brazelton followed that up with an RBI single, before both Jordan Sherman and Brazelton would score on passed balls in the opening inning.

The Concordia base runners continued to take advantage of the Red Storm. In the 3^rd, Aaron Brazelton would reached on an error, bringing home Jake Ryan. In the top of the 4^th, Calvin Syrjala recorded an RBI single to extend the Cardinal lead to 7. CUAA continued to pour it on in the top of the 5^th when Johnny Shields brought home 2 more runs with a single to left field.

After two Rio Grande runs in the bottom of the 5^th, the Cardinals tacked on 5 more in the 6^th, including Curtis Townsend, Kyle Hebner, and Kwamae Byers all scoring on passed balls. Justin Kozlowski would end the inning with an RBI single, and then Caleb Harmond reached home on a wild pitch in the 7^th to make the lead 15-2.

Ryan Abenth concluded the final two innings of the contest on the mound, striking out 4 batters while surrending 2 runs to wrap up the victory for Concordia.

Game 2: Rio Grande 5, Concordia 1

Tyson Kleinfelter would get the starting nod for game two of the day, picking up 6 strikeouts in 4 innings of pitching while surrendering 5 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, getting tagged with the loss in the Saturday finale.

The second inning saw the Cardinals jump out in front once again, as Jarrett Batanian drove Jordan Sherman home on an RBI single to give CUAA an early 1-0 lead. Rio Grande responded in the bottom of the 3^rd, scoring 5 runs in the inning, including 3 singles that drove in 4 runners and a steal of home.

Batanian picked up 2 of the 3 Cardinal hits in game 2, while Sherman recorded the other. Ryan Kotecki and James (Jimmy) Wressel also reached on walks, while Joe Jones would pick up a pair of base on balls of his own. Jarrett Batanian stole 3 bases for CUAA as well, while Jones and Sherman each recorded a steal. 

Kenneth Rozmys finished the game for Concordia, giving up a hit and walk in 2 innings on the mound while striking out a pair of batters and shutting the door on the Red Storm offense.

Game 3: Concordia 6, Rio Grande 1

Alex Phillips got the starting nod for the Cardinals, going one inning and allowing just one hit and no runs. Timothy Pomaville took the mound in relief for CUAA, going 4.2 innings, picking up 3 strikeouts while surrendering just 1 run on 6 hits and a walk against the Red Storm.

The Cardinals got the offense moving right away in the first game of Sunday, as Aaron West drove in two runners in the top of the 1^st with a double to left center. He was later drove in during the same inning off a Jordan Sherman single to extend the Concordia lead to 3-0.

After a Rio Grande run in the bottom of the 3^rd, the Cardinals would bounce back in the top of the 4^th with a run of their own off a Jarrett Batanian RBI groundout. James (Jimmy) Wressel picked up the offense in the 5^th, driving home Calvin Syrjala on a single to center. CUAA would score for the third consecutive inning when Ryan Kotecki brought home Aaron Brazelton with an RBI single in the top of the 6^th.

Ryan Kotecki also showed up in relief on the mound for Timothy Pomaville, recording an out in the bottom of the 6^th before Logan Fleming closed the door on any Red Storm comeback in the 7^th, striking out two batters and not allowing a single base runner.

Game 4: Concordia 11, Rio Grande 5

Jacob Henry started the final game of the series for the Cardinals, pitching 4 full innings while allowing just 4 hits, a walk, and 1 unearned run on the way to his second win of the season.

The Cardinals' bats continued to blaze, recording 9 runs in the first two innings to build a massive lead on the Red Storm. Joe Jones was the first base runner to reach home after Aaron West was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Jordan Sherman followed with a 2 RBI single to left center. Jarrett Batanian then picked up a pair of RBI's himself off a single to right field. Aaron Brazelton wrapped up the scoring in the 1^st by stealing home to give Concordia a 6-0 lead.

CUAA kept digging in the top of the 2^nd, as a Calvin Syrjala double brought home 2 more runners. James (Jimmy) Wressel drove Syrjala home later in the inning with a sacrifice fly out to centerfield. Following a Red Storm run in the bottom of the 3^rd, Concordia extended their lead to 10-1 off another sacrifice fly, this time Blake Weaver driving Justin Kozlowski home.

Rio Grande responded with 3 runs of their own in the 6^th, and the Cardinals bounced back in the top of the 7^th with another score. This time, Justin Kozlowski drove home Jake Ryan with a single for the 11^th CUAA run of the contest. The Red Storm put up the final run of the series in the bottom of the 7^th, finishing the game with the final score 11-5 in favor of the Cards.

Three different relievers took on the final three innings of play for Concordia, started off by an inning of scoreless pithing by Riley O'Connell. Billy Blair and Mackenzie Martin also entered the game on the mound for the Cardinals, with Martin recording 2 full innings of work and picking up 2 strikeouts while surrendering just 1 run, 2 walks, and a hit.

The Cardinals travel to Joliet, IL next weekend for a four game series with Olivet Nazarene University, who received votes in the NAIA baseball preseason coaches poll, on March 4^th and 5^th.