Baseball Bounces Back Against Marian

MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin baseball team split on Tuesday against the Sabres of Marian University, a matchup originally scheduled for April 16th but was postponed due to weather.   

The first game went to the Sabres, as they earned a 5-2 victory. 

The Sabres struck first in the top of the first inning, scoring three runs off five hits. 

CUW responded in their half of the first inning with one run. Senior Sean Tillmon (Plainfield, Ill.) reached base via a walk and was advanced third by a single from fellow senior Tristan Largent (Verona, Wis.). Sophomore Kyle Flynn (Nashville, Tenn.) gave the Falcons their first run with an RBI single to right center, scoring Tillmon and cutting the Marian lead to 3-1 after the first inning of play. 

Concordia held Marian scoreless in the top of the second and scratched another run in the bottom of the second inning. Freshman Matt Miller (Fredonia, Wis.) led off the inning with a single to left field. Then, Miller reached third base following a throwing error on a failed picked-off attempt. Next, Matt Miller crossed home plate following a ground out from sophomore Josh Aguiniga (Chicago, Ill.), cutting the Sabre's lead to 3-2.

After a scoreless second inning, Marian extended their lead in the top of the third inning, where they scored two runs off five hits again. Heading into the bottom of the third inning, the Sabres held a 5-2 lead.

The Sabres held on to the 5-2 after holding the Falcons scoreless in the bottom of the third inning. 

In the top of the fourth inning, sophomore Owen Burns (Morris, Ill.) took the mound in place of junior Max Nebel (Phoenix, Ariz.), who pitched three complete innings in his first outing at Kapco Park of the season. In his seventh appearance of the season, Burns completed the 1-2-3 inning.

However, the Falcons could not capitalize in their half of the inning and were again held scoreless.

Owen Burns continued his solid outing on the mound in the fifth, sixth, and seventh inning, holding the Sabres scoreless in all three innings, totaling six strikeouts in his four total innings pitched. 

Despite the strong defense, the Falcons on the offensive end could not scratch any runs in those innings, keeping the score 5-2 in favor of Marian, entering the top of the eighth inning. 

In the top of the eighth inning, senior Andrew Javoroski (Brown Deer, Wis.) took the mound. With Marian runners on second and third base and only one out, Javoroski escaped the dangerous situation with a looking-strike out and a pop-out to first baseman Tristan Largent.

CUW was unable to capitalize in the bottom of the eighth inning as the score remained 5-2 in Marian's favor. 

Junior Connor Krauseneck (Saginaw, Mich.) took the mound in the top of the ninth inning and quickly completed the 1-2-3 inning.

The Falcons could not complete the comeback in the ninth inning and fell 5-2 in the first part of the doubleheader. With that first game loss, the Falcon's overall record falls to 2-6 in game one of doubleheaders. 

In total, the Sabres outhit the Falcons 15 to seven, while CUW also left nine base runners stranded.

Thirty minutes later, part two of the Falcon-Sabre doubleheader had started, as junior starting pitcher Ben Spiers (Waukesha, Wis.) went three up, three down. 

In the bottom of the first inning, the Falcons were able to take their first lead of the day as senior Daniel Hahn (Cudahy, Wis.), who reached on base following a fielding error by Marian, scored after a Tristan Largen sacrifice fly RBI. 

With a 1-0 lead, Ben Spiers completed another 1-2-3 inning for the Falcons in the top of the second and third inning.

CUW extended their lead in the bottom of the third inning. Sophomore Brynden Cleveland (Crestwood, Ill.) singled up the middle to start the inning and reached third base following a Johannes Haakenson walk and a Marian fielder's choice. With bases loaded and one out, Tristan Largent earned an RBI after being hit by a pitch-scoring Brynden Cleveland, giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead after the bottom of the second. 

In the top of the fourth inning, the Sabres were held scoreless as the Falcons maintained their 2-0 lead. 

Then, in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Falcons faced another bases-loaded situation. With one out, Daniel Hahn hit a deep 2-RBI double to left center. Sean Tillmon added two more runs with a single to center field in the next at-bat. Next, Tristan Largent was hit by a pitch, while Flynn reached base following a walk, giving the Falcons yet another bases-loaded opportunity. Matt Miller singled to right center, earning himself and the Falcons two more RBIs. In total, the Falcons racked up six hits and six RBIs and extended their lead to 8-0.

On the defensive end, in the top of the fifth inning, Spiers continued to deal, letting zero Marian runners score as the Falcons held on to their 8-0 advantage.

Concordia continued to pour on runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Brynden Cleveland continued his excellent performance by leading off the inning with a double down the left-field line. At the top of the order, Johannes Haakenson was walked, and Hahn singled down to the left side, causing the bases to be loaded again. Kyle Flynn came up with a 2-RBI single to left center scoring Cleveland and Haakenson, while junior Jimmy Juergensen (Cedarburg, Wis.) hit an RBI single, increasing CUW's lead to 11-0 through five complete innings. 

CUW maintained that lead for the rest of the game and picked up the 11-0 win. 

As a result, Ben Spiers recorded his first win of the year and improved his record to 1-1 on the year while recording his career's first complete game shutout. Spiers totaled seven complete innings pitch, giving up zero earned runs while striking out five batters on 88 total pitches.

On the offensive end, the Falcons were able to flip the script from the first game and outhit the Sabres 13-3. Meanwhile, Daniel Hahn and Brynden Cleveland had three hits, while five Falcons had two RBIs, including Daniel Hahn, Sean Tillmon, Tristan Largent, Kyle Flynn, and Matt Miller. 

Following the conference split, the Falcon's record stands at 17-12 overall and 9-6 in NACC play, while their home record on the year is 8-4.

The Falcons will continue conference play with a doubleheader at Lakeland on Saturday, April 29th, before returning home on Sunday, April 30th, to host the Benedictine Eagles; both matchups are slated to start at noon and 3 pm.