Baseball concludes spring trip with loss against Western Connecticut State

LAKE MYRTLE, Fla. – The Concordia University Wisconsin baseball team fell victim to a two-run ninth inning rally by Western Connecticut State University as the Falcons were downed 6-5 in their spring trip finale Wednesday morning.

The Falcons held a 5-4 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning but the Colonials plated two in the frame, walking off with the one-run victory. Conor Bierfeldt tripled in the tying run and then scored on a passed ball to give WCSU the victory.

CUW built a 2-0 lead after five innings as junior Austin Baglow (Walled Lake, Mich.) was in control on the mound. A pair of Falcons errors in the sixth inning helped WCSU score four in the bottom of the sixth, giving the Colonials a 4-2 lead. Baglow finished the contest throwing six innings, allowing no earned runs, and striking out eight.

The Falcons rallied right back after Western Connecticut State took the lead as sophomore Brandon Seifert (Germantown, Wis.) singled home junior Jay Kuczynski (Cedarburg, Wis.) and freshman Jimmy Doedens (Germantown, Wis.), tying the score at 4-4. Seifert finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs and one run scored.

CUW (0-9) would grab the lead back in the top of the eighth inning when freshman Brock Bateman (Pewaukee, Wis.) scored on a passed ball. That lead held until the bottom of the ninth when WCSU recorded the walk off win.

Five Falcons players combined for 11 hits in the win, including Doedens who tallied a team-best three. Adding two hits apiece were Seifert, Bateman, senior Daniel Mueller (West Bend, Wis.), and freshman Luke Scheuerlein (Thiensville, Wis.). Junior Andrew Mueller (Horicon, Wis.) took the loss for CUW in relief.

The Falcons will return home where they will begin conference play against Edgewood College Saturday at Kapco Park. The first pitch of the Northern Athletics Conference doubleheader is set for noon.