Photo by Jordan Vredeveld
Photo by Jordan Vredeveld

Pitching, ninth inning rally secure Morgan's 100th win for Falcons Baseball

ORANGE, Calif. – Eddy Morgan recorded his 100th win as the Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball coach Sunday as the Falcons recorded a 2-1 comeback win over Chapman. The combination of Matthew Olig and Scott Plachinski on the mound, combined with a ninth-inning rally helped secure the milestone victory for Morgan.  

THE BASICS
- Final Score:
Concordia Wisconsin 2, Chapman 1
- Location: Hart Park – Orange, California
- Records: CUW 1-2; Chapman 8-5

HOW IT HAPPENED
- After watching Chapman score 22 runs over the first two games of the series, Olig (Plymouth, Wis.) turned in a gem for the Falcons with seven quality innings. He needed just 70 pitches as he allowed just three hits and three walks in his seven innings of work.

- Scott Plachinski (South Milwaukee, Wis.) came on for the final two innings and picked up the win for the Falcons. Plachinski allowed just one baserunner to reach (hit batsmen) over his two innings of work.

- The Falcons entered the ninth inning trailing 1-0 but pinch-hitter Austen Dart (Algoma, Wis.) sparked a rally with a leadoff double down the right-field line. Drew Barth (Pewaukee, Wis.) came into run for Dart and leadoff batter Matt Luft (Oshkosh, Wis.) bunted for a single, putting runners at the corners with nobody out.

- Chapman got the next CUW batter to foul out before Dan Ranieri (Loves Park, Ill.) tied the game with a single through the right side, scoring Barth and advancing Luft to third. Michael Szeszol (Lake Bluff, Ill.) then gave the Falcons a lead with a sacrifice fly, scoring Luft for the 2-1 advantage.

- The two teams combined for just nine hits, with the Falcons totaling six, three off the bat of Ranieri. Luft added two hits while Dart had the game's only extra-base hit, the leadoff double in the ninth.

THE OPPOSITION
- Tyler Peck threw five shutout innings for Chapman. Peck had his stuff working with 10 strikeouts over the five frames. Cody Turner added two shutout frames, while Jonathan Hernandez took the loss, surrendering two runs in two innings of work.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Morgan owns a 100-72 record in his four-plus seasons with the Falcons. He now has 205 career victories, winning 104 games with UW-Superior before becoming the lead man for Concordia Wisconsin.

UP NEXT
- The Falcons will begin a 10-game Arizona spring trip with two against Augsburg next Sunday, March 11. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. in Tucson.