(Lima, OH) Concordia Baseball went south to open up conference play Friday afternoon at the University of Northwestern Ohio. The Cardinals fought hard, but fell in both games of the doubleheader 14-10 and 16-6.
Game 1: UNOH 14 - Concordia 10
The Cardinals were the first to score in this game, as Alex Piotrowski singled in Josh Burke to take the lead in the top of the second inning. UNOH responded quickly with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, three via a home run from Seth Freeman, to take a 4-1 lead.
The Cardinals piled up eight runs in the top half of the fourth inning to take a big lead. Josh Burke got things started with a single to score Tyler Lawson. Kyle Hebner followed that up with a single to score Piotrowski and Burke. A couple of wild pitches allowed two more runs to score. Derek Hebner and Alex Piotrowski then added their own RBI hits to put the score at 9-4. UNOH once again responded in the bottom half of the frame, putting up five runs to even the score at nine after four innings.
Derek Hebner hit a solo home run over the left field wall in the fifth inning, which gave the Cardinals back the lead. Fabian Romero once again responded for the Racers in the bottom half of the frame with an RBI single up the middle, once again evening the game. The Racers were able to put up four more runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning to take a 14-10 lead, and CUAA was unable to score again making the final score 14-10.
Game 2: UNOH 16 - Concordia 6
UNOH got off to a fast start in game two as a sacrifice fly and a Noah Matheson RBI single gave them a 2-0 lead after the first inning. Josh Burke responded in the second inning with a home run over the left field wall to bring home himself and Tyler Wressel evening the score at two. UNOH responded with three runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a 5-2 lead.
The Racers would then go on to score four more runs in the fourth inning to take a commanding 9-2 lead. Jake Kuhlman was able to drive in Clayton McKInstry in the top of the fifth inning to bring the score back to 9-3. UNOH would once again respond quickly, now with a bases clearing triple and an RBI single to take a 13-3 lead. The Cardinals would show fight, able to score three runs in the top of the seventh inning. Justin Kozlowski, Tyler Wressel, and Josh Burke all drove in a run, making the score 13-6. UNOH brought in two more in the bottom half of the frame, before a sac fly in the eighth inning gave them the victory and series sweep after eight innings.
The Cardinals are back in action at home this Sunday afternoon for a non-conference doubleheader against Michigan-Dearborn at Cardinal Field beginning at 1pm.
