(Kansas City, MO) – Concordia baseball continued play at the NCCAA World Series on Monday afternoon. The Cardinals squared off first against #7 seed Kansas Christian, dominating in a 14-3 win. CUAA then faced #5 seed Fort Lauderdale, pulling away for an 18-5 victory.
Game 1 - #2 CUAA 14, #7 Kansas Christian 3 (8 innings)
Alex Phillips started on the mound, making a strikeout in 2.1 innings. Kansas Christian struck first with a run in the 2nd. The Cardinals tied the game in the bottom half with a deep sacrifice fly from Aaron Brazelton that scored Calvin Syrjala.
Kenneth Rozmys came in to pitch in the 3rd, going 3.1 innings with 4 strikeouts. The Cardinals took the lead when Aaron West hit a grounder that stayed fair for an RBI double, scoring Joe Jones. The duo connected again on an RBI double from West in the 5th for a 3-1 lead.
Kansas Christian tied the game with 2 runs in the 6th. Tyson Kleinfelter came in to close the inning, leaving the bases loaded after inducing a flyout.
Concordia surged ahead with a 5-run 6th, starting when Ryan Kotecki scored after a hard hit off the second baseman's glove by Calvin Syrjala. Sacrifice bunts from Aaron Brazelton and Robert Brenay scored Syrjala and Caleb Chamberlain. Joe Jones drove in Brazelton with an RBI double and Jordan Sherman capped the inning with an RBI double to score Jones.
Ryan Abenth came in to pitch in the 7th, making 2 strikeouts in the last 2 innings. The Cardinal defense turned double plays in the 7th and 8th. Kyle Hebner extended the lead with a 2-run homer in the 7th.
In the 8th, Jordan Sherman hit a solo home run. Calvin Syrjala then used an RBI single to drive in Aaron West. Kyle Hebner stepped to the plate and again crushed a 2-run shot to trigger the 10-run rule and clinch the 14-3 win.
Game 2 – #2 CUAA 18, #5 Fort Lauderdale 5 (7 innings)
Joe Tany started on the mound in game 2, making a strikeout in 3 innings. Concordia plated 2 runs in the 1st on a 2-RBI single from Kyle Hebner scoring Aaron West and Joe Jones.
Fort Lauderdale got a run back in the 2nd but the Cardinals turned another double play in the 3rd. In the bottom half, Ryan Kotecki and Aaron West both made it home on a throwing error. Aaron Brazelton looped an RBI single into right field scoring Kyle Hebner for a 5-1 lead.
Fort Lauderdale battled back with 3 runs in the 4th. Mackenzie Martin came in to pitch, making a strikeout over the remaining 4 innings.
The Cardinals countered with a 7-run 4th, starting when Calvin Syrjala drew a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch to score Joe Jones. Kyle Hebner grounded a 2-RBI double through the defense to drive in Ryan Kotecki
and Aaron West. Johnny Shields then added a sacrifice bunt to drive in Calvin Syrjala. Aaron Brazelton hit a 2-RBI triple to score Johnny Shields and Kyle Hebner and then beat out a throw at home on an error.
A 6-run 5th inning extended the lead, starting with an RBI triple from Jimmy Wressel scoring Aaron West. Calvin Syrjala scored on a wild pitch and Kyle Hebner made it home on an error. Jarrett Batanian capped the inning by crushing a 3-run homer.
While Fort Lauderdale scored one more run, the Cardinals claimed the 18-5 win after 7 innings due to the 10-run rule.
Concordia will now play a rematch against #3 University of Northwestern tomorrow at 10:30am. If the Cardinals win, they will face #5 Fort Lauderdale at 1:30pm for the championship.
