Baseball Beats Augsburg Twice

TUCSON, Ariz. –  The Concordia Wisconsin baseball team extended their winning streak to four games following a doubleheader sweep of the Augsburg Auggies on Monday, March 13th, at the Tucson Invitational Games.

The Falcons took part one of their doubleheader versus Augsburg, 5-4.

Augsburg jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first.

In the bottom of the second inning, junior Jimmy Juergensen (Cedarburg, Wis.) led off the inning with a double. He advanced to third following on a fly ball from freshman Matt Miller (Fredonia, Wis.). Then, sophomore Kyle Flynn (Nashville, Tenn.) drove in Juergensen with an RBI single, cutting Augsburg's lead to 2-1.

Then, in the third inning, the Falcons took the lead. Senior Cole Aguirre (Chino Hills, Calif.) started the inning after being hit by a pitch. Senior Johannes Haakenson (Janesville, Wis.) then hit a single before being driven in by Jimmy Juergensen, who hit an RBI double, giving CUW a 3-2 lead heading into the fourth inning.

Augsburg tied the game 3-3 in the top of the fourth inning after an RBI double.

Then, in the sixth inning, the Auggies took a 4-3 lead over the Falcons with an RBI single.

The score remained 4-3 in favor of Augsburg heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. 

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Cole Aguirre led off with a single. Johannes Haakenson was then walked. Senior Daniel Hahn (Cudahy, Wis.) hit a single, and Aguirre scored off a throwing error by Augsburg, tying the game 4-4. 

Jimmy Juergensen then hit a walk-off single to deep center, scoring Haakenson and earning the Falcons their third win of the season.

Sophomore Luke Bruckner (Fon du Lac, Wis.) finished the game with four innings pitched, totaling four strikeouts with one earned run, while junior Jack Hribernik (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) pitched one and one-third innings. Freshman Tyler Bartczak (Crestwood, Ill.) earned his first career win after pitching one and two-thirds innings, where he struck out three Augsburg batters.

In the second game, the Falcons came away with the 11-5 victory, improving their overall record to 4-4. 

In the top of the first inning, the Falcons took a 1-0 lead when senior Sean Tillmon hit an RBI triple, scoring Johannes Haakenson, who had a single to lead off the game. 

The Auggies were able to respond with one run of their own off of a sacrifice fly, tying the game at one apiece after the first inning. 

Junior Jimmy Juergensen hit a double in the third inning before scoring off an RBI double from freshman Matt Miller, giving the Falcons a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom half of the second inning, Augsburg again tied the game 2-2 through a fielder's choice RBI. 

The Falcons took a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning when senior Johannes Haakenson hit an RBI triple, scoring in fellow senior Tristan Largent (Verona, Wis.), who kicked off the inning with a single to left field. 

On the defensive end, in the bottom of the fourth, junior starting pitcher Ben Spiers (Waukesha, Wis.) completed a scoreless inning, allowing the Falcons to hold on to their 3-2 lead heading into the top of the fifth inning.

Concordia Wisconsin tacked on another run and increased their lead to 4-2 in the top of the fifth inning when Tristan Largent hit an RBI single, scoring Jimmy Juergensen, who reached on base through a walk and was advanced to third on a single from Kyle Flynn. 

Augsburg was able to take the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Auggies scored three runs off a CUW pass ball and two fielder's choice play, giving them the 5-4 lead over CUW. 

In the sixth inning, the Falcons tied the game 5-5. Johannes Haakenson hit a double before being scored by Sean Tillmon, who hit an RBI triple. 

In the bottom of the sixth inning, senior Dillan Fike (Oak Lawn, Ill.) threw out an Auggie trying to steal second base while senior Beau Wills (Coal City, Ill.) closed out the inning with a called third strike, heading into the top of the seventh inning. 

With the score tied at five a piece, CUW put together a big seventh inning where they scored six runs. 

Matt Miller reached base after an Augsburg error. Kyle Flynn and Tristan Largent both followed with singles. With the bases loaded, both Dillan Fike and Cole Aguirre earned RBIs after reaching base on a walk. Johannes Haakenson added two runs after hitting a single, while Daniel Hahn had a sacrifice fly RBI. Again, with the bases loaded, Kyle Flynn picked up an RBI with a walk.

Following the top of the seventh, the Falcons led 11-5. 

The Auggies were unable to score in the bottom of the seventh, earning the Falcons their fourth win of the season. 

In total, Ben Spiers pitched four innings and struck out two batters, while senior Andrew Javaroski (Brown Deer, Wis.) pitched one and one-third inning and struck out one batter. Beau Wills earned his first win of the season and struck out two Auggies.

The Falcons will continue their Arizona action on Wednesday, March 15^th, where they will face the Macalester College Scots.