Baseball Ends 2024 Campaign

LISLE, Ill. - The Concordia University Wisconsin baseball team ended their 2024 campaign following losses against the top-seeded MSOE Raiders and the Aurora Spartans in the NACC Tournament. 

Junior pitcher Luke Bruckner (Fond du Lac, Wis.) retired nine straight batters between the first and third innings. 

MSOE would take the 1-0 lead in the fourth.

The Falcons would get out of the jam in the bottom of the fifth after facing bases loaded and no outs as Luke Bruckner struck out a Raider for the first out. 

Then, in the next at-bat, junior Kyle Flynn (Nashville, Tenn.) prevented any damage as he tracked down a ball from the second base into the outfield for the second out of the inning and came up throwing to home to freshman Connor Lasch (Chicago, Ill.) who applied the tag to the MSOE base runner attempting to score for the final out of the inning to keep the score at 1-0. 

But the bottom of the sixth saw MSOE extend their lead 10-0 and take the victory in seven innings.

In game one, seniors Cole Aguirre (Chino Hills, Calif.), Jimmy Juergensen (Cedarburg, Wis.), and Sterling Armstrong (Lake Barrington, Ill.) all had hits, while Juergensen had the lone extra-base hit, a double in the second inning. 

Luke Bruckner finished his day with five complete innings, allowing three runs and striking out three batters. 

Meanwhile, junior Benjamin Vorpahl (Sheboygan, Wis.) pitched two-thirds of an inning on 20 pitches.

Following a break, CUW turned its attention to the Spartans of Aurora at 7:00 p.m. 

CUW was the first to strike as junior Brynden Cleveland (Crestwood, Ill.) turned on a pitch and blasted it to left field and well beyond the fence for a solo home run, giving CUW the 1-0 lead. 

But Aurora would mount a two-run response in the top of the third to take the 2-1 lead. 

But the Falcons did not waste any time getting that run back. Cole Aguirre got on the bases via a walk and was moved to third by a hard-hit single from fellow senior Jimmy Juergensen. In the next at-bat, Aguirre easily walked across home plate as Kyle Flynn lifted a ball high to right field for the sacrifice fly RBI to knot the game at two.

Following the RBI, CUW closed out the top of the fifth with a 6-4-3 double play, as Jordan Vazquez (Chicago, Illinois.) flipped it over to Flynn, who turned and fired to Sterling Armstrong. 

But in the next two innings, the Spartans would add one run in each inning to take a 4-2 lead. 

The Falcons held the Spartans to zero runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Freshman Alex Kuntz (Richfield, Wis.) struck out five batters, while senior Jack Hribernik (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) struck out the lone batter he faced in the ninth.

Once again, the Falcons demonstrated their resilience in the bottom of the ninth, as junior Owen Burns (Morris, Ill.) and Brynden Cleveland started the inning with singles. With runners on first and second with one out, Jordan Vazquez delivered a clutch bases-clearing double to the right-center gap, knotting the score up at 4-4 and sending the game into extras. 

In the top of the 10th, Hribernik continued to deal, going 1-2-3, including an inning-ending strikeout. 

After a scoreless bottom 10th, AU scored the first runs of extra innings and took the 6-4 lead after 11.

Despite generating scoring opportunities, CUW was unable to complete the comeback and fell 4-6.

Owen Burns had a team-high three hits, while Jordan Vazquez led the Blue and White with two RBIs. 

On the mound, sophomore JT Hockers (Middleton, Wis.) went seven complete innings with four strikeouts and two earned runs. Meanwhile, Alex Kuntz recorded five outs and had two strikeouts. Finally, Jack Hribernik recorded seven outs with three strikeouts and only one hit allowed.

Concordia would like to thank the senior class of 2024 of Cody Maier, Jack Owens, Cole Aguirre, Ben Spiers, Tyler Drezek, Sterling Armstrong, Jimmy Juergensen, Connor Krauseneck, Michael Machamer, and Jack Hribernik for their contributions to the program during their time at CUW.

The Falcons finish their season with an overall record of 19-22.