IRVINE, Calif. – The CUI baseball team pulled off a miraculous comeback in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the ninth to come back for the win. In game two, the Eagles were in a position for yet another walk-off win before the game was called due to light curfew, ending in a 4-4 tie. With the results of Saturday's games, Concordia remains undefeated with a 3-0-1 record on the season.
Game 1: CUI 14, Regis 13
In a game that lasted four hours and 15 minutes, Concordia was able to rally all of their energy in the final inning to pull off the largest comeback in school history (NCAA DII era).
Regis came out swinging, getting out to an early 7-0 lead by the top of the fourth inning. CUI broke through in the bottom of the fourth on a
Bodie Parker RBI single to center field, scoring
Jackson Collins. Right fielder
Calvin Schonebaum followed that by pushing across
Nathan Benefeito from third base to make the score 7-2.
Jamison King held the Ranger offense at bay in his first collegiate appearance on the mound, allowing just three hits in 4.0 innings of work out of the pen. The Irvine native also struck out seven batters on 61 pitches.
The Green & Gold continued to chip away in the sixth inning, plating two runs off the bats of
Alex Moreno and
Dante Catalino to bring the score within three. However, Regis responded with three runs of their own in the top of the seventh inning to take a 10-4 lead.
Heading into the bottom of the ninth, Regis had all but won the game with a daunting 13-6 lead.
Will Bonn led off the inning with a hit by pitch, followed shortly by a Catalino double down the right field line where the right fielder lost the ball in the sun.
Richard Castro then singled to right field, scoring Bonn.
As the tension began to rise,
Tristan Hanoian roped a ball to deep left center field scoring Catalino to bring the score to 13-8.
Michael Dixon then pushed across Castro to cut the lead to four. One of the biggest blows followed shortly after when
Nathan Benefeito singled up the middle, scoring both Dixon and Hanoian to make the score 13-11, all with
ZERO outs in the inning.
After a passed ball scored
Jackson Collins to bring the lead within two,
Will Bonn stepped up to the plate for the second time in the inning. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Bonn ripped a ball to deep left center field to score both Benefeito and Parker to complete the epic eight-run comeback and give the Eagles the victory.
Both teams combined to use a staggering 13 pitchers on the day, contributing to the lengthy time of the game. CUI's eight run comeback also tops
last year's seven run 9th inning comeback against Azusa Pacific on April 17, 2021; a game that, not surprisingly, also ended with a
Will Bonn walk-off hit.
Game 2: CUI 4, Regis 4 (7 innings)
Regis came out swinging yet again in Game 2 of the doubleheader, putting up two runs on the Eagles to start the game. CUI was able to regain one run back on an errant throw by the catcher that allowed Hanoian to score from third base.
In the bottom of the third inning,
Jackson Collins hit a sacrifice fly to left field, once again scoring Hanoian to make the score 3-2.
Sophomore
Matthew Williams kept the Eagles in the game on the mound, going 3.1 innings with four strikeouts while giving up just one earned run.
In the bottom of the fourth,
Richard Castro demolished a ball to left center field for Concordia's first home run of the season. The two run home run gave CUI a 4-3 lead, that being their first lead of the day. However, Regis tied the game the next half with an RBI double to center field.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh inning, when CUI had a chance to end the game. With bases loaded and the winning run on third base, the lights to Eagles Field shut off. This was caused by a local light curfew set for 9:00 PM, where the lights to all CUI athletics facilities must power down by that time. With very unfortunate timing, the game ended in a 4-4 tie.
Eagles return to action at Cal State San Marcos on Tuesday, Feb. 8
th, at 1:00 PM.
Click HERE for the 2022 Baseball Schedule
