MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin baseball team battled back on Wednesday afternoon to earn a key split with conference leading MSOE in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) action at Kapco Park.
After dropping game one 7 to 1, the Falcons bounced back in game two with an offensive explosion, taking down the Raiders 11 to 6 to improve to 17 and 16 overall and 9 and 9 in NACC play.
In the opener, the Falcons found themselves locked in a tight contest early, trailing just 3 to 1 after five innings. Senior Kyle Flynn (Downers Grove, Ill.) provided the lone offensive spark with a triple down the right field line in the fifth to bring home CUW's only run.
The score remained unchanged until the ninth, when MSOE tacked on four insurance runs to put the game out of reach. Senior Zach Slome (Schaumburg, Ill.) turned in a gritty performance on the mound, throwing 124 pitches over 8.1 innings and collecting six strikeouts. Senior Matthew Ward (East Dundee, Ill.) needed just five pitches to get the final two outs.
Flynn finished game one 3 for 4 and accounted for CUW's only RBI and extra base hit.
The Falcons flipped the script in game two, answering with a high powered response. CUW struck first in the bottom of the first inning, as Flynn delivered a sacrifice fly to score sophomore Alex Ames (Plymouth, Wis.), who opened the frame with a double.
After MSOE posted a four run third inning to go up 4-1, CUW stormed back with nine combined runs across the fourth and fifth innings. Senior Josh Aguiniga (Chicago, Ill.) drew a bases loaded walk to kick off the rally in the fourth, followed by an RBI single from freshman Gavin Crellin (Phoenix, Ariz.) and a two run single by Flynn to give the Falcons the lead.
In the fifth, Aguiniga drove in two more with a single to left, while Ames was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in another. Flynn capped off the scoring burst with another RBI groundout, extending the lead to 10 to 6.
CUW added an insurance run in the eighth on a wild pitch and held the Raiders scoreless over the final four innings to secure the win. The Falcons outhit MSOE 10 to 5 in game two, with Flynn again leading the offense—finishing with two hits and four RBIs. Juniors Matt Miller (Fredonia, Wis.) and Brynden Cleveland (Crestwood, Ill.) also had multi hit games.
On the mound, Alex Kuntz (Richfield, Wis.) struck out three in 2.2 innings before handing the ball to senior Luke Bruckner (Fond du Lac, Wis.), who earned the win with 3.1 solid innings. Seniors Chris Rooney (Mundelein, Ill.) and Owen Burns (Morris, Ill.) combined to close it out, tossing three scoreless frames to preserve the victory.
The Falcons return to Kapco Park this weekend as they host Illinois Tech for a pivotal NACC doubleheader on Senior Day.
