The groundhog may have said there will be six more weeks of winter, but the Eagles say that spring has arrived!  The Concordia Baseball Team started the 2017 season off with a bang, winning both games of Saturday's double-header against Cal Poly Pomona.
 
Sophomore Morgan Brannock got the start in game one for the Eagles, holding the Broncos hitless through his first two innings of work.
 
Jair Donovan got the ball rolling for the Eagles in the bottom of the second inning with a leadoff walk and then stole second.  Bailey Collins walked, bringing up Chad Whiteaker.  Whiteaker laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position.  A ground out from Dillon Millar proved to be a productive out, scoring Donovan from third.  With two outs, freshman Tony Garcia singled to left field and brought in Collins, putting the Eagles up 2-0.  Chris Martin continued the rally with a base hit that advanced Garcia to second.  A single form Ryan Land would bring in Garcia and the inning would end with Concordia leading 3-0.
 
Cal Poly Pomona got two runs back in the top of the third, the only runs that Brannock would allow.  The Eagles answered back in their half of the third, starting with a leadoff walk from Spencer Nielsen.  With two outs, Whiteaker walked and both advanced on a wild pitch putting runners on second and third.  A passed ball on ball four to Millar allowed Nielsen to score.  The Broncos threw the ball around in an attempt to catch Millar trying to take second, and Millar got himself into a run-down to allow Nielsen to score.  The Eagles ended the third inning up 5-2.
 
"It is always a big relief on a pitcher to know that your team can put up runs," Brannock said.
 
Collin Orellana took over for Brannock in the top of the fifth and allowed one run on two hits before handing the ball over to freshman Cade Temple who finished the inning for the Eagles and would get the win.  Carpenter Pagget would get the save.
 
Millar covered a lot of ground in the outfield, making multiple impressive catches in center field.  Nielsen also flashed some leather, making diving stops at third base. 
 
The Broncos struck first in game two, scoring one in the first off of freshman Mike Killeen.  They would score again in the third and lead by a score of 2-0 going into the Eagles' half of the inning. 
 
Martin led off the inning with a walk and a sacrifice bunt from Land would move him into scoring position.  Nielsen singled with two outs to bring in Martin for the first Concordia run of the game.  Donovan followed up with a single of his own to bring in Nielsen and tie the game at two a piece. 
 
Down 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth, Land would reach on an error and take second.  A groundout from Haloa Dudoit moved him to third and a sacrifice fly from Donovan brought him in bringing the Eagles back within one.
 
Alex Zalasky took over on the mound for the Eagles in the top of the sixth.
 
The bottom of the sixth inning was where the game was decided.  Whiteaker lead off the inning with a single and was lifted for a pinch runner in Dominic Castro.  Millar laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance him.  Castro scored on a single from Martin, tying the score at four.  A wild pitch moved Martin to third.  With two outs, Dudoit laid a bunt down the third base line that no one would get to in time.  Nielsen scored and the Eagles lead 5-4 going into the final inning.
 
Zalasky threw a scoreless seventh inning, and the Eagles ended the day with two wins.
 
"We had great energy, and we won every pitch in both games.  A lot of young guys really stepped up and played a huge role.  That is how it's going to be this year.  Our season looks promising if we can continue that mindset and grind every moment of each game," Nielsen said.
 
The Eagles take on UC San Diego in La Jolla on Friday, Feb. 10 and return home to continue the series with the Tritons on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 11 a.m.