(Ann Arbor, MI) - The Concordia Cardinals Baseball team continues play at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament today as they will take on the Racers from University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH). The Cardinals advanced to the semifinal game following a dominating walkoff win over the third-seeded Indiana Tech on Thursday.
The Cardinals won in dramatic fashion last night against the Warriors, with the starters from both sides pitching well to start the game as Bryon Mane went 4 innings with just two earned runs. Indiana Tech scored a pair of runs in the top of the second, but Harrison Ryan got a run back for the Cardinals with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning. Both teams plated a run in the fourth inning to make it 3-2. Kenneth (Dave) Rozmys pitched five scoreless innings in relief to keep the game within one for Concordia. Derek Hebner tied the game up with a solo shot in the bottom eighth, and then it was his brother, Kyle Hebner, who came in to pinch hit and drive in the game winning run for the walkoff in the ninth inning.
The new tournament format features a double-elimination bracket. All eight teams will play a game on Wednesday and make it to the next day. On Thursday, three teams were eliminated with two more on Friday. The three remaining teams will move on to the final consolation game and Championship series on Saturday.
Game Information
#2 Concordia vs #1 UNOH
Meijer Sports Complex | Grand Rapids, MI
May 2, 2025 | 6 PM | Hosted by Aquinas and Cornerstone
About the Racers
The Racers earned the top-seed in the WHAC Tournament this year after posting a 26-2 WHAC record and going 39-11-1 overall. The Racers are led by WHAC Coach of the Year Kory Hartman who is 474-271-2 in his 15 seasons at the helm of the program.
The Racers pitching staff is led by WHAC Pitcher of the Year, Freshman Daniel Healy. Healy has pitched 66 innings throughout the year, racking up 59 strikeouts and sports a 3.00 ERA which is the best in the conference among qualified pitchers. Sinjon Bobolia and Brayden Lybarger both earned WHAC Honors as starters for the Racers along with First Team reliever Eliott Traver who led the WHAC with 7 saves.
Third Baseman Fabian Romero was named to the WHAC First Team after leading the team with a 0.442 batting average with 36 RBIs. Shortstop Eliomar Otero was also a WHAC First Team honoree after leading the team in both home runs and RBIs with 11 and 65 respectively and a 0.361 average. Tyler Huff was the WHAC First Team's Designated Hitter after batting 0.408 with 21 RBI's. Catcher Joskar Feliciano and First Baseman Noah Matheson were also Second Team honorees.
About the Cardinals
Concordia are 43-9 on the season record overall and 22-6 WHAC record, good enough to take the second seed in the WHAC tournament. Head Coach Zach Johnston is now in his 11th season with the program and has a 394-195 record overall.
Jake Kuhlman earned First Team All-WHAC accolades after hitting for a 0.400 average on the season along with 25 extra base hits and 50 steals. Josh Burke manned third base for the Cardinals on his way to Second Team honors with a conference leading 19 home runs and 68 RBI. Gus Simon also received Second Team accolades in the outfield while earning a Gold Glove alongside Catcher Tyler Wressel, First Baseman Derek Hebner, and Second Baseman Jake Kuhlman.
The Cardinals are led on the mound by All-WHAC Second Teamer Trey Acker. Acker pitched 59.2 innings on his way to a 8-1 record with a WHIP of just 1.29. Bryon Mane, Logan Morris, Drew Murphy, and Evan Jasiak all made 7 or more starts for Concordia, while Blake Weaver and Kenneth (Dave) Rozmys played big roles out of the bullpen with 6 and 2 saves respectively.
WHAC Day Two Recap
The day started with the bottom two seeds of the tournament losing their second game and getting eliminated. #8 Siena Heights fell to #5 Madonna, 9-5 and #6 Lawrence Tech knocked out #7 Cleary 6-2 in the early games.
In the winner's side of the bracket, #2 Concordia defeated #3 Indiana Tech and #1 UNOH beat #4 Aquinas 17-11.
The UNOH/Aquinas game went long because of a rain delay and high scoring, which did not allow for the third game to be played at the Meijer Sports Complex between Aquinas and Lawrence Tech. At DeWitt Field, #3 Indiana Tech knocked out #5 Madonna in the night cap with a 16-11 score.
Previous Matchup
The Cardinals and Racers opened up conference play against each other back on March 14th in Lima, when the Racers took both games against Concordia, 14-10 and 16-6.
Both teams were seeing the ball well at the plate in the first game. After being down a pair of runs, the Cardinals exploded for eight runs in the top of the fourth inning, but were answered with five runs from UNOH in the bottom half of the inning. The teams traded runs in the fifth, but the ultimate difference was UNOH scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
The bats stayed hot in game two of this series with UNOH scoring two runs in the first inning. Josh Burke tied it up with a two-run home run in the top of the second, but UNOH responded with three runs in the second and then another four in the fourth and fifth innings. The Cards cut into the lead with three runs in the seventh inning, but UNOH eventually forced the mercy rule in the eighth inning as the game finished 16-6.
Team Stat Comparison
|
Concordia |
Stats |
UNOH |
|
52 |
Games |
51 |
|
1536 |
At Bats |
1597 |
|
482 |
Runs |
452 |
|
501 |
Hits |
526 |
|
102 |
Doubles |
86 |
|
18 |
Triples |
15 |
|
59 |
Home Runs |
40 |
|
418 |
Runs Batted In |
402 |
|
179 |
Extra Base Hits |
141 |
|
816 |
Total Bases |
762 |
|
269 |
Walks |
230 |
|
99 |
Hit by pitch |
102 |
|
260 |
Strikeouts |
335 |
|
29 |
Sacrifice Flies |
26 |
|
32 |
Sacrifice Hits |
24 |
|
24 |
Hit into double play |
27 |
|
175 |
Stolen Bases |
116 |
|
18 |
Caught Stealing |
32 |
|
0.326 |
Batting Average |
0.329 |
|
0.45 |
On Base Percentage |
0.439 |
|
0.531 |
Slugging Percentage |
0.477 |
|
3.71 |
Earned Run Average |
4.06 |
|
1.35 |
WHIP |
1.4 |
|
7 |
Shutouts |
4 |
|
1442 |
At Bats Against |
1457 |
|
0.255 |
Batting Average Against |
0.244 |
WHAC Tournament
April 30, May 1-3, 2025
8 Teams - Games Played at Meijer Sports Complex and Cornerstone University
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Wednesday, April 30
Meijer Sports Complex
Game 1 2:00pm #1 UNOH defeats #8 Siena Heights - 7-6 - 11 Innings
Game 2 6:00pm #4 Aquinas defeats #5 Madonna - 8-7
Cornerstone University
Game 3 2:00pm #2 Concordia defeats #7 Cleary - 11-0 - 7 Innings
Game 4 6:00pm #3 Indiana Tech defeats #6 Lawrence Tech - 4-3 - 11 Innings
Thursday, May 1
Gm5 #5 Madonna def. #8 Siena Heights, 9-5
Gm6 #6 Lawrence Tech def. #7 Cleary, 6-2
Gm7 #1 UNOH def. #4 Aquinas, 17-11
Gm8 #2 Concordia def. #3 Indiana Tech, 4-3
Gm9 #3 Indiana Tech def. #5 Madonna, 16-11
Friday, May 2
Meijer Sports Complex
Gm10 #4 Aquinas def. #6 Lawrence Tech, 10-4
Gm11 #3 Indiana Tech vs. #4 Aquinas - 2 p.m.
Gm12 #1 UNOH vs. #2 Concordia - 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 3
Meijer Sports Complex
Gm13 L12 vs. W11 12 p.m.
Gm14 W12 vs. W13 - 4 p.m.
Gm15 If necessary - TBD
