Barney's walkoff pushes Baseball past North Park in home opener

Below is the audio from Justin Barney's walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth inning.

MEQUON, Wis. – Freshman Justin Barney delivered a walkoff single, helping push the Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball team to a 2-1 win over North Park in the 2015 home opener Tuesday.

Barney's (Kenosha, Wis.) avoided a fourth consecutive extra-inning game for the Falcons. He fought off a pitch from NPU reliever Danny Forsythe and placed it perfectly down the left field line, falling between three Vikings for the game-winner. Sophomore Bryan Thomas (Lowell, Ind.) who singled with one out in the inning, score the final run for the Falcons.

The rest of the contest was about the pitching and shaky defense as the Falcons committed five errors in the contest. Despite that, CUW pitchers Tyler Adams (Jackson, Wis.) and Michael Winter (Cedarburg, Wis.) combined to allow just one run in the contest. The two combined on a four-hitter, while striking out six Vikings.

Adams got the start and delivered seven strong innings of three-hit ball. He struck out four and walked two and the only run he surrendered came unearned in the top of the fifth. Winter got his second win of the season after throwing the final two innings, allowing one hit and striking out two. He also issued a pair of walks.

North Park also got a strong effort on the mound as Matt Peterson threw 8.1 innings before being lifted for a reliever. Peterson struck out two, while scattering four hits and three walks. He allowed one earned run, which was the Thomas score in the ninth, giving Peterson the decision. Forsythe threw 0.1 innings, allowing the one hit to Barney.

Thomas paced the Falcons offensive attack with two hits after moving from his normal leadoff spot to fifth in the order. Adding hits for CUW were Barney, sophomore Mitchell Dubnicka (Hartland, Wis.) and freshman Noah Greenberg (Libertyville, Ill.).

CUW (5-6) took the lead in the bottom of the 3rd when Matt Schubert (West Bend, Wis.) hit into a fielder's choice, scoring senior Brandon Seifert (Germantown, Wis.). The Vikings would tie the score in fifth on an unearned run scored by Mitchell Jordan. Zak Worsley drove in Jordan with an RBI single.

The Falcons will return to action tomorrow when they host Northland College in a non-conference matchup at Kapco Park. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.