Falcons Split Conference Opener

MEQUON, Wis. – The Falcons opened the conference season versus Edgewood on Monday, April 3rd, at Kapco Park. Despite the games being played on Concordia's campus, the game was an Edgewood home doubleheader due to the weather. 

The Falcons split the conference opening series versus the Eagles, where they dropped the first game 6-1 and rebounded with a 8-5 victory.

Edgewood was able to scratch the first runs of the game in the bottom of the first inning. The Eagles scored two runs in the first inning with an RBI double and an RBI single. 

On the defensive end, Edgewood kept Concordia without a base runner for the first three innings. 

The Falcons cut the Edgewood lead in the top of the fourth inning. Senior Johannes Haakenson (Janesville, Wis.) led off the inning with a triple to deep right field. Then, fellow senior Sean Tillmon (Plainfield, Ill.) hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Haakenson.

Then, in the bottom of the fourth inning, on the defensive end, senior starting pitcher Ryan Green (Green Bay, Wis.) completed the 1-2-3 inning. 

Following the fourth inning, Edgewood led 2-1. 

Concordia Wisconsin kept Edgewood scoreless for the fifth and sixth inning. 

However, the Eagles were able to extend their lead in the bottom of the seventh inning when they added four runs off three hits and one CUW error, giving them the 6-1 lead.

The Falcons were unable to answer, giving Edgewood the 6-1 win in the first part of the doubleheader.

But in part two of the doubleheader, the Falcons responded with an 8-5 victory.

Edgewood took the lead in the bottom of the third inning after scoring two runs on a pair of RBI singles, giving them the 2-0 lead heading into the top of the fourth. 

The offense picked up for Concordia in the top of the fifth. Sophomore catcher Brynden Cleveland (Crestwood, Ill.) got on base with a single. In the next at-bat, Senior Brandon Niedfeldt (Roscoe, Ill) also hit a single to center field, advancing Cleveland to third. Johannes Haakenson hit a sacrifice RBI to left field, scoring Cleveland and giving Falcons their first run of the game. Senior Daniel Hahn (Cudahy, Wis.) brought in the second run of the inning after hitting an RBI double to left field, scoring Niedfeldt.

Heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Falcons and Eagles were tied at 2-2.

Concordia Wisconsin took the lead in the top of the sixth inning off an RBI double from sophomore Kyle Flynn (Nashville, Tenn.), scoring junior Jimmy Juergensen (Cedarburg, Wis), who reached base earlier in the inning with a double to left center. Following Flynn's RBI, the Falcons led 3-2.

Sophomore starting pitcher Zach Slome (Schaumburg, Ill.) shut down the Eagles with a 1-2-3 inning in both the bottom of the sixth and seventh inning, maintaining CUW's 3-2 lead.

Concordia extended their lead in the top of the eighth inning of an Edgewood wild pitch that scored Kyle Flynn, who doubled to lead off the inning. The Falcons tacked on one more run when junior Sterling Armstrong (Lake Barrington, Ill.) hit an RBI double down the left field line, scoring fellow junior Jack Owens (Chicago, Ill.). 

In their half of the inning, Edgewood responded with one run.

Heading into the top of the ninth, the Falcons held a 5-3 lead. 

The Falcon's lead pushed their lead in the top of the ninth inning. Daniel Hahn and Sean Tillmon were both walked to lead off the inning. Next, Jimmy Juergensen hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Hahn and advancing Tillmon to third base. Freshman Brennan Luz (Plainfield, Ill.) checked into the game to pinch run for Juergensen. The Eagles then intentionally walked Kyle Flynn bringing up bases loaded for freshman Matt Miller (Fredonia, Wis.). Miller then hit a sacrifice fly RBI, scoring Tillmon. The Falcons added one more run in the inning off a passed ball scoring Luz. 

Following the top of the ninth inning, the Falcons led 8-3.

The Eagles were able to score two runs in their half of the inning but were unsuccessful at completing the comeback, giving the Falcons an 8-5 win.

In the win, Daniel Hahn, Jimmy Juergensen, and Kyle Flynn had two hits, while six Falcons had RBIs. 

On the mound, sophomore Zach Slome had a strong performance, facing 27 batters, pitching seven complete innings, striking out nine batters, and only allowing three hits and two earned runs. He also picked up his second win of the season. 

Following this doubleheader, the Falcons move to 1-1 in NACC play, while their overall record moves to 9-7. 

CUW will quickly turn around and play another conference doubleheader on Wednesday, April 5th, versus Wisconsin Lutheran at Concordia. Once again, the Falcons will be the away team in that matchup while playing on their home turf.