(Toccoa Falls, GA) Concordia Baseball opened up their 2025 season in Georgia for the first two games of a three game set against IUPUC. Today's games were played at neutral site Toccoa Falls College, and the Cardinals found themselves victorious in game one 9-1 before an 8-0 win in game two.
Game 1: Concordia 9 – IUPUC - 1
Trey Acker opened up the season on the bump for the Cardinals, going six innings pitched with only one earned run allowed and three strikeouts to pick up the win. Logan Morris came on to finish the game in the seventh inning and did just that by getting all three batters he faced out.
The Cardinal bats got things started in the second inning when Tyler Wressel sent the first pitch he saw of the season over the left field fence. They threatened again in the inning when Harrison Ryan walked and stole second, but he was left there. They then would tack on more after Gus Simon walked and stole second before a Crimson Pride error allowed him to score. Tyler Wressel drove in Jake Kuhlman to put the Cardinals up 3-0.
Tyler Lawson was able to reach base to start the fourth inning, which set up a Gus Simon two-run home run to give the Cardinals a 5-0 lead. IUPUC responded in the bottom half of the inning by scoring a run on a ground ball to second base, but Acker limited the damage and entered the dugout with the Cardinals up 5-1.
Doubles from Kuhlman and Justin Kozlowski along with a Josh Burke walk started the sixth inning for CUAA, with Kozlowski driving in Kuhlman and pinch runner Darren Pagel to take a commanding 7-1 lead. Garrett Williams stole second later in the inning to put more pressure on, but IUPUC was able to limit the damage. Gus Simon then homered once again in the seventh before Justin Kozlowski doubled home another run to go up 9-1. Morris closed the game out quickly with five pitches in the final frame to give the team their first win of the 2025 campaign.
Game 2: Concordia 8 – IUPUC 0
The Cardinals pitching staff sent Evan Jasiak to toe the rubber in game two, and he went three innings allowing just one hit. Landen Harris made his Cardinal debut and followed with two innings, also only allowing one hit. Ryan VanSlambrouck took the rubber in the sixth inning and limited IUPUC to one hit as well. Brad Oltersdorf handled the first two outs of the seventh inning retiring both batters he faced, while Marcus Bugeja made his CUAA debut and retired the only batter he saw to end the game at 8-0.
The offense scored seven of their eight runs in the second inning. Kozlowski, Wressel, and Ryan loaded the bases to start the inning, and Alex Piotrowski, Alex Czyzewski, Tyler Lawson, and Gus Simon all came through to put the Cardinals up 5-0. Lawson then stole third which allowed a Kuhlman single to score him. Jake Kuhlman was able to steal back-to-back bases and score on a wild pitch to give the Cardinals an early 7-0 lead.
The fourth inning then saw two steals from Tyler Lawson after a walk to put him at third, and then was driven home by a Josh Burke Sac Fly. Clayton McKinstry and Garret Williams threatened on the bases in the fifth inning, but were unable to score to leave it at 8-0. The score remained the same for the final few frames, with CUAA's pitching staff limiting IUPUC's offense the rest of the way.
Next up for the Cardinals is the final game of the series tomorrow at 1pm in Easley, South Carolina at JB Owens Field.
