(Ann Arbor, MI) Concordia Baseball hosted Goshen for their home opener on Tuesday afternoon. The Cardinal offense exploded in game one for a 30-4 victory before the pitching staff threw a one-hitter in a 9-1 game two victory.
Game 1: Concordia 30 – Goshen - 4
Kyle Winslow started the home opener on the mound going two innings while allowing one earned run. Ryan VanSlambrouck then pitched the next three innings where he allowed no runs and struck out four while picking up the win. Marcus Bugeja finished the game on the bump for CUAA, pitching two innings and allowing just two runs.
CUAA opened up the scoring in the top of the first when Derek Hebner brought home Jake Kuhlman on a sacrifice fly. Goshen then scored two in the second inning on a Nick Pinedo single and a throwing error, which gave them a lead 2-1. Concordia responded quickly in the second inning when Alex Piotrowski drove home Josh Burke on a single, and Kyle Hebner followed closely behind, scoring on a wild pitch. Gus Simon then hit a sac fly to score Piotrowski and the Cardinals went up 4-2 after two innings.
In the third inning Josh Burke hit another sac fly to bring home Derek Hebner. Piotrowski then hit another RBI single, this time bringing home Tyler Lawson and Justin Kozlowski. Gus Simon brought him home after singling up the middle to make the score 8-2 after three innings.
The bottom of the fifth inning saw the Cardinals explode for nine runs. Simon started it off with a hit bringing home Harrison Ryan, Piotrowski, and Garrett Williams. The very next at bat Jake Kuhlman singled to score Simon. Kozlowski later brought him home on a single. Tyler Wressel singled to bring home Derek Hebner. The next batter Josh Burke hit a home run over the left field wall to bring home Kozlowski and pinch runner Tyler Lawson.
Goshen responded in the top of the sixth with an RBI single to make the score 17-3. That did not last long, as CUAA put up 13 runs in the bottom of the sixth. It started when Kolton Horn smashed a two-run shot to right center for his first career college home run. A couple of wild pitches brought home Alex Czyzewski and Lawson. Matthew Dubrick then doubled to left field for his first college hit to bring home Kyle Hebner. Ryan Dixon stepped to the plate and gathered his first college hit with a single to bring home Dubrick. Ty Schornak then hit a sac fly to bring home Clayton McKinstry. Brenston Brown, who earlier in the inning picked up his first college hit, was able to score n a wild pitch. Four more runs were scored in the inning to put the Cardinals at 30 runs in the game. A solo home run in the top of the seventh gave Goshen their fourth and final run, but the game ended at 30-4 after a fielder's choice to second base.
Game 2: Concordia 9 – Rio Grande 1
Drew Murphy started the game on the mound for CUAA, and carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. His final line was six innings pitched allowing one run on one hit with eight strikeouts. Landen Harris came on to close the game out in the seventh inning, and struck out three of the four batters he faced in the inning.
CUAA once again got off to a fast start. A Justin Kozlowski sac fly to score Gus Simon got things started. Jake Kuhlman then stole third to cause havoc and scored on a throwing error. Tyler Lawson was then able to do the same thing, this time on a throwing error by the pitcher. Josh Burke hit a solo shot to wrap up the scoring in the first inning, giving them an early 4-0 lead.
The third inning saw Burke and Alex Piotrowski hit sac flies to bring home Kozlowski and Lawson to go up 6-0. A Simon walk with the bases loaded in the fifth inning made the score 7-0. Goshen was able to hit a home run in the sixth inning to break up Murphy's no hitter and make the score 7-1. Piotrowski quickly responded with a single in the next inning to bring home Kozlowski and Garrett Williams, bringing the score to 9-1, which is all Harris needed to close the game out!
The Cardinals are back in action on the road this Friday as they open up conference play at UNOH in Lima, Ohio beginning at noon!
