Tewes drives in five, leads Baseball to comeback win over St. Norbert

MEQUON, Wis. – Before the 2015 season began, Concordia University Wisconsin head baseball coach Eddy Morgan was very upbeat about several players for his Falcons team. One of those was sophomore Isaac Tewes who had a monster fall, but struggled early in on the spring. The recent stretch of Tewes, including a big performance in Wednesday's 8-6 non-conference win over St. Norbert at Kapco Park, has shown exactly why Morgan was excited about his sophomore first basemen.

Tewes (Chaska, Minn.) went 4-for-5 with a career-best five RBIs to lead the Falcons to a comeback win over the Green Knights. The first basemen collected hits in his four at bats, including a go-ahead bases clearing double in the fourth inning to give the Falcons a 7-6 lead at the time. His three-run double capped off a four-run fourth inning for the Falcons.

Most of the offense on Wednesday came early in the game as the Green Knights jumped out to a 6-2 lead after one-and-a-half innings of play and a 6-3 lead after two complete. Walks greatly hurt the Falcons in the first two frames as two CUW pitchers combined to issue four free passes, helping lead to the six runs for St. Norbert. The Falcons staff issued a total of nine free passes, eight walks and one hit batsmen in the win.

Tewes had his first big hit of the game in the first as he squared one up for a two-RBI single, making the score 4-2 at the time. St. Norbert would respond with a two run second inning, despite getting zero hits in the frame. The Green Knights first two batters walked and came around to score, making the score 6-2.

Following the first two pitchers, the Falcons bullpen locked in as four pitchers combined to shut the Green Knights out over the final 24 outs. Among those was senior Michael Winter (Cedarburg, Wis.) who allowed just one hit and walked one in four innings of shutout baseball. Winter (3-1) came on in the second and escaped any further damage for the Falcons and cruised through his innings on the mound. He needed 51 pitches to get his 12 outs in picking up his third win of the season. Winter added two strikeouts.

Perhaps the most effective Falcons pitcher in the game was sophomore Dylan Gausman (Eagan, Minn.) who tossed back-to-back perfect innings in the sixth and seventh. Gausman threw just 19 pitches and struck out one. Senior Tyler Adams (Jackson, Wis.) came on for the eighth and escaped a little early trouble, while striking out two before junior Josh Ruppel (Belgium, Wis.) worked the ninth for his second save of the season. Ruppel did run into a little trouble, loading the bases, but got the final batter to ground out to short for the 8-6 win.

In addition to Tewes, freshman Michael Szeszol (Lake Bluff, Ill.) continued to do an outstanding job from the leadoff position. Szeszol posted a 3-for-5 game with two runs scored, while driving in another and stealing a base. Number two hitter Nathan Thyssen (freshman – Appleton, Wis.) added a double and two runs scored, while junior designated hitter Kyle Hegeman (New Berlin, Wis.) also scored twice. Freshman Dan Ranieri (Loves Park, Ill.) drove in his career run for the Falcons after getting the start at shortstop for the Falcons.

Matt Zacharias (0-1) took the loss for St. Norbert as he was touched up for four runs in just 1.2 innings of work. The Green Knights used four pitchers in the game, including starter Blake Rutherford who lasted until just the third inning. Leadoff man Derek Klegin paced the St. Norbert lineup with three hits and two runs scored.

The Falcons (16-15) will return to action Saturday in a crucial NACC doubleheader against Edgewood College. CUW trails Edgewood by just one game in the NACC standings and the doubleheader from Verona, Wis. is scheduled for a noon start.