Comeback bid comes up short for Baseball against Trinity International

MEQUON, Wis. – Facing a 9-1 deficit heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball team rallied back and had the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth Tuesday against Trinity International University at Kapco Park.

Following a six-run eighth inning, CUW entered the final frame trailing 9-7. The Falcons put runners on second and third but could only push one across as the runner on second was tagged out at third for the second out of the inning on a bang-bang play. The final batter flied out to left as CUW couldn't complete the comeback, falling by a 9-8 score. 

Trinity International (6-15) nearly cost themselves three runs in the top of the eighth Tuesday. The Trojans began the inning by batting out of order, but since the error wasn't reported by CUW to the umpiring crew until midway through the inning, no out occurred and TIU rallied for three runs, all coming with two outs. The three-run eighth made the score 9-1 in favor of the Trojans at the time.

The Falcons wouldn't go away easily however as they as they used four hits to plate six runs and cut the lead to two heading into the ninth. Freshman Mitchell Dubnicka (Hartland, Wis.) started the rally with his second double of the game and the Falcons batted around the order, getting RBI singles from a trio of freshmen – Tyler Crass (Glendale, Wis.), Dylan Gausman (Eagan, Minn.) and Matt Schubert (West Bend, Wis.).

Dubnicka finished the game 2-for-4 with his two doubles, the only two extra-base hits for the home team. Crass and Gausman each added two hits, while sophomore Jacob Boudreaux (Wauwatosa, Wis.), who entered the game in the eighth inning, finished 1-for-1 with two runs scored.

The game started out poorly for CUW as Trinity built a 5-0 lead after two-and-a-half innings of play. The Trojans got to Falcons starter Beau Burger (senior – Oshkosh, Wis.), who was making his first career start on the mound. Junior Michael Klaver (Germantown, Wis.) threw the final six innings for CUW, allowing two earned runs.

The game hit a groove from the fourth through seventh innings as just one run was scored during that span, coming from TIU in the top of the sixth. That would all change in the eighth however where the teams combined for nine runs.

Jeremiah Carter earned his first win of the season for TIU as he threw five strong innings, allowing just one run. Ben Hylander added two hitless innings of relief but a pair of Trojans relievers struggled in the eighth, combining to give up the six runs. Nick Robinson came on in the ninth to earn his first save of 2014.

CUW (6-11) will return to the diamond Thursday when they play a makeup game against North Park University. The game was originally scheduled for March 19 but unplayable field conditions pushed it to a 4 p.m. start on Thursday.