Baseball hits way to game two victory, salvages split against Lakeland

MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball team rebounded from a game one defeat to split a Northern Athletics Conference doubleheader against Lakeland College Sunday at Kapco Park. The Falcons recorded 14 hits in the second game, a 10-5 win, which followed a 4-2 game one win by LC.

CUW jumped on the board right away in the second contest, scoring three runs over the first two innings. Sophomore Joel Sharon (Glendale, Wis.) drove in junior Jay Kuczynski (Cedarburg, Wis.) to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead, while Kuczynski recorded an RBI of his own in the second inning, helping them to a 3-0 advantage.

Lakeland answered back with two runs in the bottom of the third, cutting the lead to 3-2 but the Falcons answered with a five-run fourth inning. Sharon had the hit of the inning, tripling to center field and driving in two runs in the process.

LC (7-10, 3-5 NAC) would plate one run in the bottom of the fourth but CUW again had an answer, scoring twice in the fifth and taking a 10-3 advantage. LC scored twice in the sixth and that would be all the scoring for the remainder of the game as the Falcons went on to earn a split with a 10-5 victory.

Five CUW (8-13, 8-4 NAC) players finished with multiple hits in game two led by Kuczynski who went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two driven in. Sharon drove in a team-best four runs, while adding two hits for CUW while sophomore Kyle Hegeman (New Berlin, Wis.), and freshmen Nick Yenter (Rosholt, Wis.) and Jimmy Doedens (Germantown, Wis.) all tallied two hits.

Junior Austin Baglow (Walled Lake, Mich.) earned his third victory of the season for CUW as he went six innings, allowing four earned and striking out two. Sophomore Colin Bernreuter (Frakenmuth, Mich.) pitched two scoreless innings in relief, while freshman Eli Riddle (Blissfield, Mich.) closed things out in the ninth inning.

Game one of the twinbill saw two solid pitching performances from junior Andrew Mueller (Horicon, Wis.) of CUW and Lakeland's Derek Loomans. Loomans gained the win, throwing a complete game and striking out five. Mueller also threw a complete game, giving up three earned runs and recording four punch outs.

Both teams would score two runs in the first inning as CUW jumped on the board first with a two-RBI double off the bat of Yenter. Lakeland would answer with two runs in the bottom of the frame to even things up at 2-2.

The Muskies would score the winning runs in the bottom of the sixth inning when Frank Pietrantonio doubled in two runs, giving LC a 4-2 game one win.

CUW will return to action tomorrow when they host Finlandia University in a non-conference doubleheader at Kapco Park. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.