Eagles Split Twin Bill with Sunbirds
Alisha Alexander
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
The Concordia Baseball Team traveled to Fresno this week for a PacWest showdown with the Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific. The four game series began Friday with a double header in which the Eagles took game one 10-8, and then dropped the second game 5-4.
Game one: Eagles - 10 Sunbirds – 8
Neil Lang got the start on the bump in game one, coming in with a 2-2 record.
FPU struck first in the bottom of the first, scoring one run on three hits.
Concordia came back in the top of the third inning as
Chris Martin led off with a single to center.
Ryan Land followed with an RBI triple to the right field corner to tie the game at one.
Haloa Dudoit came to the plate and sent a sacrifice fly into left to bring in Land and give the Eagles the lead.
Jair Donovan crushed his second home run of the year, sending a shot to right field to cap off the three run inning.
The Eagles continued their run scoring in the top of the fourth.
Dillon Millar tripled before a single from
Tony Garcia brought him in to give CUI a 4-1 lead.
Donovan doubled into left field in the top of the fifth as the Eagles looked to increase their lead over the Sunbirds.
Hunter Holland came to the plate with two outs and brought Donovan in with an RBI single.
Continuing his successful day at the plate, Donovan drew two-out walk in the top of the seventh, putting a runner on for
Bailey Collins. Collins tripled into right field to increase the lead to 6-1.
Lang continued to dominate on the mound, giving up just two hits from the second inning through the seventh.
Millar singled to begin the Concordia half of the eighth inning and then stole second for his 10
th of the season. After advancing on a fly ball, Millar scored on a single off the bat of Martin. Land followed with another single. With runners on the corners, Dudoit hit the Eagles' fourth triple of the day and brought in two more runs. Donovan singled to bring in Dudoit and give Concordia a 10-1 lead.
Three straight hits, including a three-run home run, in the bottom of the eighth inning brought Fresno Pacific within six runs of the Eagles before Lang sat down the next two batters on a strike out and a ground out.
He would finish the game going eight innings while giving up four runs on eight hits. He walked just one batter and struck out five en route to his third win of the season.
The Sunbirds made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth as Concordia had to use three different pitchers to close out the game.
Jack Ruegge came on to begin the inning and recorded a strikeout. An error would advance runners as FPU began to chip away at the lead.
Cade Temple came on in relief of Ruegge and got a batter to fly out for out number two as the Sunbirds brought the score to 10-7.
Carpenter Pagett took over on the mound with two outs and gave up an RBI single that closed the book on Ruegge. He got the Eagles out of the inning without allowing any further damage and earning his fifth save of the season.
The Eagles hung on to win 10-8.
Donovan led the offense in game one going 3-4 with a home run, double, and two RBIs while scoring three runs. Dudoit went 2-4 with a triple and three RBIs. Four Eagles recorded a triple including Dudoit, Land, Collins, and Millar. Millar went 2-3 and Martin went 2-4.
Game two: Eagles – 4 Sunbirds – 5
Concordia got on the board first in game two. Garcia drew a two-out walk and advanced on a passed ball. A bunt single from Martin would move him to third. Land then doubled into center to bring Garcia in and put the Eagles up 1-0.
Alex Zalasky started the game and held FPU scoreless through his first three innings.
The Eagles extended their lead in the top of the fourth as Temple stepped into the batter's box and led off with a single. A sac bunt from Millar moved him to second before a single from Garcia moved him to third. Martin grounded into a fielder's choice that allowed Temple to score. Garcia was thrown out at second. Martin advanced on a wild pitch and Land was then intentionally walked in an effort to preserve the possibility of a double play. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Dudoit singled to right to bring in Martin and move Land to third. Donovan drew a walk to load the bases, and then Collins drew a walk that earned him an RBI and gave CUI a 4-0 lead.
Zalasky gave up two hits to lead off the bottom of the fourth as Fresno Pacific scored their first run of the game. He retired the next three batters to end the inning.
The Sunbirds notched three hits in the bottom of the fifth to come charging back and tie the score at four.
Morgan Brannock took over on the mound in the bottom of the sixth and did not allow a run through the sixth and seventh inning.
Game two of the double header was set for seven innings, and with the game tied 4-4 after seven the game went into extra innings. The Eagles failed to score in the top half of the inning. FPU led off their half with a double, and an RBI single would bring that runner around to score as the Sunbirds walked-off in game two.
Land went 2-2 in game two with a double and and RBI. Garcia went 2-3 and Donovan went 1-2. Dudoit stayed hot, going 1-3 with an RBI.
Land and Donovan both ended the day with four hits each and Dudoit recorded four RBIs.
The Eagles now sit at 8-6 in PacWest play and continue the series with FPU on Saturday with a double-header beginning at 11 a.m.
