MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia University Wisconsin baseball team saw its 2025 season come to a close on Wednesday night, falling 2-0 to Marian in the opening round of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament.
In a classic pitcher's duel, CUW's Zach Slome (Schaumburg, Ill.) and Marian's Tanner Alsteen went toe-to-toe on the mound. Despite playing at Kapco Park, the Falcons were designated the visiting team due to seeding and batted first.
CUW's best early scoring opportunity came in the second inning when sophomore Connor Lasch (Chicago, Ill.) and senior Brynden Cleveland (Crestwood, Ill.) led off with back-to-back singles. However, Marian turned a timely double play to escape the threat.
The Sabres capitalized in the bottom half of the second, plating a run on a sacrifice fly to go up 1-0.
From here, both pitchers then settled in, with Slome and Alsteen trading scoreless innings from the fourth through the seventh.
Marian added an insurance run in the eighth, once again scoring via a sacrifice fly to extend its lead to 2-0.
Down to their final three outs, the Falcons looked to rally. Lasch recorded his second hit of the night to keep hope alive, but the Falcons could not push across a run, bringing their season to an end with a 20-20 overall record and a 12-12 mark in conference play.
Slome delivered a gritty performance on the mound, tossing 7.1 innings while allowing just two hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts. With his outing, he surpassed 200 career strikeouts, becoming only the second Falcon to reach that milestone.
Sophomore Alex Kuntz (Richfield, Wis.) recorded the final two outs in relief, adding one strikeout to finish the season with 83, tying the program's single-season record.
Lasch and Cleveland combined for five of CUW's seven hits on the night, leading the way offensively.
The Concordia Wisconsin Athletic Department extends its sincerest gratitude and best wishes to the 2025 senior class: Josh Aguiniga, Tyler Brandenburg, Luke Bruckner, Owen Burns, Brynden Cleveland, Kyle Flynn, Jake Hartley, Jack Hribernik, Arthur Liebau, Jack Owens, Chris Rooney, Zach Slome, and Matthew Ward.
The Falcons will return to the diamond next season looking to build upon the foundation set during the 2025 campaign.
