Baseball opens NACC Tournament with 7-3 win over Edgewood

MEQUON, Wis. – After a rocky start that saw Edgewood College score three first-inning runs, freshman Andrew Heideman settled in on the mound for the Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball team. That was bad news for Edgewood as Heideman's pitching and timely hitting allowed the Falcons to open NACC Tournament play with a 7-3 win.

Heideman (Bakersfield, Calif.) went the distance, scattering 12 hits and allowing three earned, while striking out three. The win was the first conference tournament win for CUW since a Lake Michigan Conference Tournament win on May 8, 2004 – exactly 10 years to the date.

The Falcons broke a 3-3 tie with two runs in the bottom of the seventh and two more in the bottom of the eighth for the four-run victory. Senior Beau Burgert (Oshkosh, Wis.) finished the game 3-for-4 with two doubles for the Falcons, while senior Taylor Buuck (Hillsboro, Ore.) and junior Brandon Seifert (Germantown, Wis.) led CUW with two RBIs. Seifert had the go-ahead RBI triple in the seventh, scoring Buuck.

After a three-run home run by Ryan O'Dell put Edgewood up 3-0 in the top of the first, the Falcons quickly answered with a two-run first to cut the EC lead to one. Junior Joel Sharon (Glendale, Wis.) had an RBI groundout in the inning, while Burgert scored on a wild pitch after doubling.

CUW (21-17) would then tie the game in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly from Seifert, scoring sophomore Jordan Mathiebe (Brillion, Wis.). The second was also when Edgewood starter Taylor Hillman was chased from the game. Hillman's final line read one inning allowing two hits, three runs and four walks. Bryce Ziegler finished the second before Andy Swanson threw the final six innings for EC.

Pitching was the story from the third inning until the Falcons two-run seventh. After Seifert's go-ahead triple, Burgert ripped his third hit of the game, plating Seifert to make the score 5-3. Buuck would add insurance in the eighth with a two-RBI double down the right field line, plating sophomore Luke Scheuerlein (Thiensville, Wis.) and pinch runner Jacob Boudreaux (Wauwatosa, Wis.).

Scheuerlein and Buuck each totaled two hits for the Falcons as seven of nine starters recorded at least one in the win. Alex Jaskulski and Ryan O'Dell paced Edgewood with three hits apiece, while Brad Clark added a pair of singles.

Swanson took the loss for EC, throwing six innings and allowing four earned. He struck out five batters and issued no free passes.

The Falcons will return to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. with their opponent yet to be determined. CUW is set to face the winner of today's 4 p.m. game between second-seeded Benedictine and No. 5 Dominican.