MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW baseball team took the 10-4 win over the Pioneers of Carroll University in their home opener to improve to 3-4 on the year.
Looking to avenge their loss earlier in the season to the Falcons, the Carroll Pioneers scored two runs in the top of the first inning.
But looking to defend home turf, the Blue and White strung together six runs in their half of the inning.
Seniors Jack Owens (Chicago, Ill.) and Jimmy Juergensen (Cedarburg, Wis.) led off the inning, reaching base by a walk and a hit by pitch.
In the next at-bat, junior Kyle Flynn (Nashville, Tenn.) loaded the bases with a single to left field.
With the bases juiced, sophomore Matt Miller (Fredonia, Wis.) drove a run home with a hard-hit single up the middle.
CUW added two more runs as senior Cole Aguirre (Chino Hills, Calif.) doubled down the left field line, while junior Owen Burns (Morris, Ill.) had an RBI single to center field in the subsequent at-bat.
Senior Sterling Armstrong (Barrington, Ill.) kept Concordia's bats rolling. He singled through the left side to score one run, and the sixth and final run of the inning came courtesy of a Carroll error.
CUW's momentum carried over to the top of the second as sophomore Zach Slome (Schaumburg, Ill.) kept the Pioneers scoreless after dealing a 1-2-3 inning, forcing two fly-outs and one ground ball.
After a quick defensive inning, the Falcons added another run in the bottom of the second, as Kyle Flynn led off the inning with a double in the left-center gap.
Matt Miller tallied another hit and RBI as he singled through the right side to score Flynn and give CUW the 7-2 lead.
The score remained 7-2 until the top of the fifth when Carroll capitalized on a CUW error to score two runs and make the score 7-4 in CUW's favor.
But the Falcons would scratch one run back in the bottom of the sixth, as Matt Miller continued to have a day, as he had a sacrifice fly to give CUW the 8-4 advantage.
The Blue and White, behind the pitching of sophomore Nikolai Nawracaj (New Lenox, Ill.), recorded six straight outs as he struck out three batters, with 17 of his 23 pitches being strikes.
In the bottom of the eighth, junior Brynden Cleveland (Crestwood, Ill.) went yard and recorded two RBIs as he turned on an inside pitch and lifted the ball deep to left field, hitting the top of the party deck to give CUW the 10-4 lead.
Senior Ben Spiers (Waukesha, Wis.) pitched the final inning, striking out two batters and securing CUW's 10-4 victory.
Matt Miller had a game-high three hits and three RBIs in the win. Kyle Flynn, Cole Aguirre, and Owen Burns all had extra-base hits, while Brynden Cleveland had his first home run of the season.
In 27 batters faced, Zach Slome recorded five strikeouts and two earned runs, picking up his first decision of the year to move to 1-0.
The trio of Zach Slome, Nikolai Nawracaj, and Ben Spiers totaled 10 strikeouts and limited the Pioneers to seven hits.
CUW will continue nonconference action on Friday, March 15th, when they travel south to take on Millikin. CUW will then complete its weekend with a doubleheader against Illinois College on Saturday, March 16th, with game times slated for noon and 2:30 p.m.
