CHICAGO, Ill. – The Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball team's offense appears to be getting hot at the right time. The Falcons scored 11 runs for the second straight game and in the process defeated the University of Chicago, 11-2, in a non-conference road game Wednesday afternoon.
Sophomore Bryan Thomas (Lowell, Ind.) went 3-for-3 with three runs scored, while three other players chipped in with two hits to lead the Falcons 14-hit attack. CUW scored three times in the first and eighth innings, twice in fourth and once each in the second, fifth and ninth frames for the 11-run outburst.
While the offense was rolling, senior Joel Sharon (Milwaukee, Wis.) was cruising along as the Falcons starter on Wednesday. Sharon tossed five frames as he scattered five hits and did not issue a free pass. The southpaw struck out five batters to move his record to 2-0 on the season. His lone rune given up, which came in the fifth inning, was unearned.
Another senior, Michael Klaver (Germantown, Wis.) threw 2.1 shutout frames for the Falcons. Klaver allowed just one hit and walked one before handing the ball off to junior Tyler Gross (Wauwatosa, Wis.) in the eighth inning. Gross worked the final 1.2 innings for the Falcons, striking out a pair.
The Falcons jumped out to a 3-0 lead right away thanks to some control issues from the Maroons starting pitcher. CUW walked three times in the first, one of those by Isaac Tewes (Chaska, Minn.) with the bases loaded. Senior Brandon Seifert (Germantown, Wis.) then delivered an RBI single, while another run came in thanks to an error by Chicago.
Tewes and Seifert would each finish the game with two RBI, while sophomore Matt Schubert (West Bend, Wis.) tripled in the win. Freshman Michael Szeszol (Lake Bluff, Ill.) tallied two hits, including an RBI double in the fourth inning, while Sharon and freshman Nathan Thyssen (Appleton, Wis.) also doubled in the game. Adding two hits for CUW was Seifert and sophomore Mitchell Dubnicka (Hartland, Wis.).
The Maroons would finish the contest with nine hits, six of those coming from the 2-3 hitters, Ryan Krob and Kyle Engel. Both Krob and Engle doubled for Chicago, the only two extra-base hits for the home team in the game.
The Falcons will return to action Saturday for their final NACC doubleheader of the season against Lakeland College. CUW needs one win to clinch the final spot in the NACC Tournament, which will begin Thursday, May 7 at Kapco Park. First pitch on Saturday is set for noon.
