FOND DU LAC, Wis. - The Concordia University Wisconsin baseball team hit the road to take on the Sabres of Marian University on Tuesday. After dropping the opener 10-4, the Falcons responded with a gritty 9-7 victory in Game Two to earn the doubleheader split.
With the results, Concordia moved to 16-13 overall and an even 8-8 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play.
Marian came out hot in the opener, plating four runs in the bottom of the first to seize early control. Concordia answered quickly in the top of the second, beginning with a run-scoring single from senior Josh Aguiniga (Chicago, Ill.) to bring home junior Matt Miller (Fredonia, Wis.).
One batter later, senior Brynden Cleveland (Crestwood, Ill.) crushed his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot down the right field line, to pull CUW within one at 4-3.
However, the Sabres quickly reestablished their lead, scoring two more in each of the next two innings to go up 8-3. The Falcons' offense stalled from there, going scoreless until freshman Graham Kasten (Mequon, Wis.) launched his first homer of the day in the ninth.
Despite the late spark, CUW fell 10-4. Senior Luke Bruckner (Fond du Lac, Wis.) started the game and went three innings with two strikeouts. Senior Matthew Ward (East Dundee, Ill.) provided a strong relief effort with a career-high 4.2 innings, while junior Nikolai Nawracaj (New Lenox, Ill.) recorded the final out.
Cleveland led the team with two RBIs, while Aguiniga and sophomore Connor Lasch (Chicago, Ill.) each tallied two hits. Senior Kyle Flynn (Downers Grove, Ill.) added a triple.
Concordia came out swinging in Game Two, scoring three in the second inning, highlighted by sophomore Luke Heinkel's (Brookfield, Wis.) first home run of the season—a deep shot to right field.
The Falcons added another run in the third when Flynn scored on a single from Kasten, extending the lead to 4-0. Marian answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half to keep it close.
Kasten struck again in the fifth, sending his second homer of the day over the fence to give CUW a 5-4 edge. The Falcons broke it open in the sixth, plating four more runs. With the bases loaded, senior Tyler Brandenburg (Saukville, Wis.) was hit by a pitch to force in a run, followed by a bases-loaded walk to sophomore Alex Ames (Plymouth, Wis.). Flynn capped the inning with a two-run double down the left field line to make it 9-4.
The Sabres kept it interesting with two in the bottom of the sixth and one more in the ninth, but Concordia's bullpen held strong. Sophomore Alex Kuntz (Richfield, Wis.) struck out three in two innings of relief and earned the win to improve to 3-2. Senior Chris Rooney (Mundelein, Ill.) came on in the ninth to lock down his first save of the year, stranding the bases loaded to preserve the win.
Senior Owen Burns (Morris, Ill.) started and went four innings, while reigning NACC Pitcher of the Week [Name omitted] contributed two key frames in relief.
Heinkel led the Falcons offensively with three RBIs. Flynn and Kasten each added two.
Concordia will take a short break from NACC action to face North Central College on Saturday before resuming conference play next Wednesday at home against MSOE.
