IRVINE, Calif. — Concordia Baseball hit the ground running in its PacWest conference opener against the Hawai'i Pacific Sharks, earning two wins in the doubleheader at Eagles Field. Concordia beat HPU 9-6 in game one, totaling 10 hits and three stolen bases. In the nightcap, the offensive momentum continued and the Eagles took the win 12-4.
Game One: Concordia 9, Hawai'i Pacific 6
Starting pitcher Brett Vansant earned the win with his seven inning outing. The junior allowed four hits and no runs. Morgan Brannock was awarded the save after the senior entered the game from the bullpen, threw 2 innings and allowed now hit. Brannock also made an appearance in the batters box. The right-handed pitcher grounded out to the mound, moved runners over, and was welcomed back to the dugout with a celebration for his efforts.
In game one, Haloa Dudoit went 4-4 with four singles from the leadoff spot in the order. RBI singles in the third and fourth innings by Matt Lautz, Tony Garcia III and Nick Grimes (2), gave Concordia a 4-0 lead. Jair Donovan made it six with a two-run bomb over the right-field fence.
A pair of RBI sacrifice flies by Dominic Castro and Garcia and an error, rounded out the scoring for the Eagles and ended the first game of the four game series.
Game Two: Concordia 12, Hawai'i Pacific 4
Plainfield, Ill. native Andrew Stout threw seven innings in game two. The senior allowed two runs and struck out five Sharks. Cooper Moore homered to right field in the second inning to get on the board and Eagles offense continued to score in four consecutive frames.
On defense, a double play from freshman Will Bonn to Dudoit to Moore got the Eagles out of the third inning unscathed.
With two outs in the bottom of the third, Nick Grimes doubled to right-center to score Dudoit and take the lead once again. In the fourth and fifth, Carl Turner and Moore hit a sacrifice fly a piece to right field and left field, respectively. Then, Bailey Collins knocked an RBI single to right field to score Lautz. After five innings, Eagles lead HPU 5-1.
Donovan ripped a three-run home run over the right field fence, his second multi-run homer on the day. Soon after, Moore crushed a two-run home run to center field and gave Concordia an 11-2 lead.
The Eagles final run of the game came in the eighth inning off a pinch-hit double from Kyle Fujisaki, Concordia secured the win 12-4.
"Offensively we took advantage of some mistakes they made and we also had a lot of quality at-bats today. We were playing well in all three faces of the game today pitching, defense, and offense," Coach Joe Turgeon said. "As far as league play goes, we treat every game as if its a World Series game. We didn't give very many pitches away today. We're gonna continue to do that on Monday and try to get some momentum moving forward in the PacWest conference."
Up Next: Concordia Baseball and Hawai'i Pacific continue the four game PacWest series on Monday March 11. The games are slated for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Follow the action HERE.
