Mueller, Adams pitch Baseball to NAC Tournament berth

MEQUON, Wis. – Needing a pair of wins to clinch the fifth seed in the Northern Athletics Conference Tournament, the Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball team received outstanding pitching performances from Andrew Mueller and Tyler Adams as they shut Marian University out of a conference doubleheader Saturday at Kapco Park.

Mueller (Horicon, Wis.) threw his sixth complete game of the year in the opener as he limited the Sabres bats to just four hits, picking up his team-leading fourth win of the season in a 4-0 game one win. Adams (Jackson, Wis.) followed that performance with eight shutout innings of his own, punching out four and paving the way for junior Ty Wester (Germantown, Wis.) to pick up his second save of the season in 1-0 win in game two.

With the sweep CUW advances to the NAC Tournament for the third time in four years as they earned the fifth seed. They will take on the No. 2 seed, which has yet to be determined, Thursday at 4 p.m. at Kapco Park. Marian left Kapco Park needing Wisconsin Lutheran College to fall in game two of a doubleheader against Marantha Baptist Bible College or else the Sabres would just miss out on the NAC Tournament.

The MU (18-16, 11-11 NAC) pitchers also turned in quality performances as both Sam Forkert and Brandon Winfield pitched complete games in losing efforts. Neither pitcher surrendered an earned run as each of the three MU errors on the day proved costly.

CUW (15-24, 12-10 NAC) got on the board in the bottom of the first in game one as sophomore Brandon Seifert (Germantown, Wis.) scored when Marian sent the ball sailing over the first baseman's head on a ground ball. The Falcons would then add three more in the bottom of the third, including a two-out, two-RBI single from sophomore Kyle Hegeman (New Berlin, Wis.), giving CUW a 4-0 edge.

That would be all the run support Mueller would need as he was fantastic in throwing just 90 pitches in the complete game effort. Mueller did not walk any batters, while striking out two. Forkert took the loss despite punching out nine Falcon hitters and allowing just four hits.

Adams and Winfield made sure the strong pitching theme carried into the second game as the duo went back-and-forth posting zeros until the Falcons punched through in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman Jimmy Doedens (Germantown, Wis.) reached on an error and scored on a squeeze play, which actually went down as a bunt base hit for Seifert.

That would be the only run scored in game two as Adams kept the Sabres at bay for eight innings, while Wester pitched one-two-three ninth inning for the save. Winfield took the loss despite allowing just three hits and fanning six over eight innings.

Saturday was also senior day as the Falcons honored infielder Daniel Mueller (West Bend, Wis.). Mueller has had an impressive career and season for the Falcons as in 2013 he leads the team in several offensive categories. Mueller tallied one hit and scored one run Saturday.

The Falcons will play a non-conference game with UW-Whitewater on Tuesday before taking part in the NAC Tournament. CUW and the Warhawks will meet at 4 p.m. in Whitewater, Wis.