(Ann Arbor, MI) – Concordia baseball hosted the WHAC championship series starting on Monday with game 1 against Madonna.  The Cardinals rallied from a 6-2 deficit to force extra innings, but the Crusaders took a 7-6 win in the 11th. 

Drew Murphy started on the mound, making 2 strikeouts in 2 innings.  Madonna started fast taking a 5-0 lead after the 3rd.  Trey Acker pitched starting in the 3rd, notching 2 strikeouts in 4 innings. 

In the 4th, a sacrifice fly from Jimmy Wressel scored Kyle Hebner to get the Cardinals on the board.  Both teams traded runs with Madonna scoring in the 6th and Jarrett Batanian hitting a solo shot in the 7th.  Kenneth Rozmys pitched starting in the 7th, going 5 innings with 5 strikeouts. 

Down 6-2 in the 9th with two outs, Curtis Townsend started a rally with an RBI single scoring Caleb Harmond.  Kyle Hebner then crushed a 3-run homer to electrify the crowd and force extra innings. 

The Cardinals plated two runners in the 10th with a Jordan Sherman single and Jarrett Batanian drawing an intentional walk.  However, Madonna got out of the inning and scored in the 11th to take the lead.  The Crusaders secured three outs in the bottom half to take the win. 

Concordia will host Madonna again tomorrow at 1pm for game 2 of the series.  If the Cardinals win and force game 3, that will follow afterwards.