Sharon's career-best 11 strikeouts helps Baseball shut out Maranatha Baptist

MEQUON, Wis. – Senior left-hander Joel Sharon struck out a career-best 11 batters in five innings of work and sophomore Isaac Tewes had a monster day at the plate to lift the Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball team to a 10-0 victory over Maranatha Baptist University Saturday at Kapco Park.

Sharon (Milwaukee, Wis.) was dominant in his five innings on the bump as he allowed just two hits and recorded all but four of his outs via the punchout. He walked three before allowing fellow senior southpaw Michael Winter (Cedarburg, Wis.) to come on for the final six outs of the game. The Falcons needed just seven innings to complete the victory thanks to the 10-run mercy rule.

Tewes (Chaska, Minn.) was the top offensive player for CUW on Saturday as he posted a final line of 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI. Sophomore Luke Wirtz (Marshfield, Wis.), who batted after Tewes in the order, also had a solid game in going 2-for-4 with two runs driven in.

The Falcons built a 3-0 lead in the second inning as Wirtz got them on the board with an RBI single, plating Tewes. Wirtz would then score on a wild pitch, making the score 2-0 before freshman Matt Luft (Oshkosh, Wis.) drove in sophomore Matt Schubert (West Bend, Wis.) to give CUW a 3-0 edge after two innings of play.

CUW would tack on solo runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings to make the score 6-0 heading into the seventh. Freshman Noah Greenberg (Libertyville, Ill.) drove in Tewes in the third with an RBI single, while Writz doubled in Tewes in the fourth inning. Tewes then drove in freshman Nathan Thyssen (Appleton, Wis.) in the sixth inning on an RBI grounder.

The Falcons would put away the Sabercats in the seventh with four runs for the 10-run rule. Thyssen started the seventh inning with an RBI single, scoring sophomore Bryan Thomas (Lowell, Ind.) Junior Kyle Hegeman (New Berlin, Wis.) made the score 8-0 with an RBI single, plating senior Brandon Seifert (Germantown, Wis.), while Tewes drove in Thyssen to make the score 9-0. Freshman Justin Barney (Kenosha, Wis.) won the game with a walkoff single, plating Hegeman for the 10-0 victory.

CUW could have probably stopped at one the way its pitching staff threw on Saturday as Sharon and Winter combined to allow four hits and struck out 14 batters. Greg Schiderer, who got the start on the bump for Maranatha Baptist, lasted four innings and surrendered five runs, four earned. Cody Borland gave up five runs in 2.2 innings of relief for the Sabercats.

Thyssen had two hits and two runs scored for the Falcons, while Greenberg and Luft each added a pair of hits in the non-conference win.

CUW (15-13) will return to action tomorrow in a NACC doubleheader at Marian University. First pitch between the Falcons and Sabres is set for 1 p.m. in Fond du Lac.