MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin baseball team hosted the Scarlet Hawks of Illinois Tech in a battle of two of the best teams in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) on Saturday. The Scarlet Hawks took both games with 10-5 and 7-5 victories to send the Falcons to 16-18 on the year and 12-8 in NACC play.
The Falcons were first on the scoreboard on Saturday when senior Matt Miller (Fredonia, Wis.) sent a soft single to right field that scored junior Alex Ames (Plymouth, Wis.) from second base after he had just stolen the bag.
The Scarlet Hawks tied the game in the third inning on a fielder's choice. The Hawks then added a run in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 3-1 lead.
The Falcons reclaimed the lead in the fifth inning and it started when freshman Cameron Bueno (Milwaukee, Wis.) scored on an error from second base on a failed pick off attempt.
Junior Luke Heinkel (Brookfield, Wis.) gave the Falcons the with a bases-clearing double into the gap in right field that sent in junior Connor Lasch (Chicago, Ill.) and senior Brandon McCray (Corona, Calif.).
IIT reclaimed the lead with five runs in the seventh inning.
Brandon McCray cut into the Illinois Tech lead in the bottom half of the inning with a single to center field that scored Cameron Bueno after he started the inning with a triple to right field.
IIT added to the lead with a two-run triple to help secure the victory.
The Falcons stole three bases in game one with Alex Ames, Matt Miller and Brandon McCray all with one.
Senior Nick Barksdale (Walnut Creek, Calif.) had six strikeouts and only had six hits against in six innings.
The Falcons struck first again in game two in the first inning with a Matt Miller single to right field to start off the attack and plate freshman Mick Vagner (Crown Point, Ind.).
The Hawks responded with two runs in the second inning to take an early lead.
Freshman Jameson Dick (Chesapeake, Va.) tied the game in the second inning with a double that scored Alex Ames.
Alex Ames gave the Falcons the lead once again in the third inning with a single that had freshman Dylan Hein (Dyer, Ind.) score.
Illinois Tech reclaimed the lead for good with four runs in the fifth inning.
Concordia scored a run back in the fifth inning when junior Hayden Reich (Sussex, Wis.) scored off an error.
IIT added their final run of the game in the sixth inning.
Concordia closed the scoring in the sixth inning when Hayden Reich doubled to left field, scoring Luke Heinkel.
Freshman Jack Stuck (Bayside, Wis.) led the Falcons with three strikeouts in game two.
Despite today's results at home, the Falcons clinched a spot in the NACC Tournament.
The Falcons look to shake Saturday off and bounce back on Tuesday at St. Norbert.
