TUCSON, Ariz. – The Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball team and Salem State had the bats working Friday night in Tucson. The Falcons and Vikings traded wins in a pair of slugfests, Salem State winning the opener, 13-7, before CUW bounced back with a 14-8 victory in game two.
THE BASICS
- Final Scores: Salem St. 13, CUW 7; CUW 14, Salem St. 8
- Location: Kino Sports Complex – Tucson, Arizona
- Records: CUW 6-5; Salem St. 7-4
CUW 14, SALEM ST. 8
- The Falcons had the bats working most of the day, but especially in game two as they collected 18 hits and scored 14 times. Michael Szeszol (Lake Bluff, Ill.) and Dan Ranieri (Loves Park, Ill.) led the way in the game two win. Szeszol went 3-for-5 with a home run and triple while scoring four times and driving in two. Ranieri was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with five RBI and two runs scored.
- The first five hitters, including Szeszol and Ranieri all collected at least two hits in the win, as did No. 9 batter Kyle Washburn (Pleasant Prairie, Wis.). Nathan Thyssen (Appleton, Wis.), Kyle Hilliard (Oak Forest, Ill.), and Justin Barney (Kenosha, Wis.) all added two hits. Eric Paz (Kenosha, Wis.) tripled, while Barney added a double.
- Matthew Olig (Plymouth, Wis.) worked six innings for his second win on the Falcons current 10-game trip. Olig gave up six earned and struck four in the victory. Niko Kutsulis (Homer Glen, Ill.) worked the seventh for the Falcons.
- The Falcons opened up a nice lead with a five-run second inning, taking a 6-0 advantage into the bottom of the second. Salem St. responded with a five-run second of its own. CUW would score four in the fourth, two in the second, and one each in the sixth and seventh frames to put the game away.
SALEM ST. 13, CUW 7
- The day started with the Vikings putting their bats on display in a 13-7 setback for the Falcons. After both teams scored twice in the first, Salem St. tallied three in the second and one in the third for a 6-2 lead. The Falcons cut back into the lead with two in the third and one in the fourth, making the score 6-5 before the Vikings put things away with seven runs over their next two at-bats.
- Ranieri again led the offense with two hits and two RBI, while also scoring a pair of runs. He and Thyssen each doubled in the setback. Drew Barth (Pewaukee, Wis.) added two hits for CUW.
- Andrew Gibbons (Markesan, Wis.) got the decision for CUW, working five innings. Eric Dubek (Lockport, Ill.), Vincent Pieters (Butler, Wis.), and Drew Underwager (South Elgin, Ill.) worked the final two innings.
- Stephen Keskinidis threw 5.2 innings in gaining the win for Salem St. He struck out nine batters and allowed five runs, two earned. The Vikings recorded 16 hits in the win, three each from Mac Daniel Singleton and Joe White.
UP NEXT
- The Falcons close the Arizona trip Saturday morning with two against Macalester. First pitch of the twinbill is set for 9 a.m. Arizona time.
