FRESNO, Calif. – The CUI baseball team split both the Friday and Saturday doubleheaders, leading to a series split with Fresno Pacific. Both squads were ranked in the latest NCBWA West Region poll, with Concordia sitting at No. 4 while Fresno Pacific came in at No. 9.
Game 1: CUI 6, FPU 2
Both teams' bats started off slow, with CUI being the first to break into the run column in the top of the fourth inning. The inning started with a
Kevin Fowler single up the middle, followed by a
Tristan Hanoian walk.
Shane Schick then reached on an error by the pitcher allowing
Kevin Fowler to score from second to put the Eagles up 1-0. Immediately after, a wild pitch allowed Hanoian to score from third for the second run of the inning. A batter later,
Alex Moreno hit a sac fly to centerfield, scoring Schick to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.
An inning later in the fifth,
Tristan Hanoian hit an RBI double to left center to score both Fowler and
Jackson Collins to extend the lead to five. Then in the sixth,
Nathan Benefeito doubled down the right field line to score
Richard Castro for the Eagles' final run of the game.
Both
Michael Dixon and Fowler turned in multi-hit performances, with Fowler also leading the team with two runs scored. The Eagles also recorded three doubles off the bats of Benefeito, Fowler, and Hanoian; while Dixon hit his team-leading fourth triple of the season.
Starting pitcher
Mason Metcalfe turn in an excellent start for the Green & Gold, throwing 7.1 innings and only allowing 2 earned runs. The Santa Barbara native now holds a 3.73 ERA on the season with three of his starts going 7.0 or more innings. Metcalfe also owns a team-best 4-0 record on the season.
Long-time CUI reliever
Carpenter Pagett came in to close the game, recording one strike out in 1.2 innings to secure the win. Pagett has recorded 10 strike outs in 10 innings this season, while sporting a career-best 2.70 ERA in his sixth season as an Eagle.
Game 2: CUI 2, FPU 5 (7 innings)
Fresno Pacific got out to an early lead in game two, scoring five runs in the first five innings. Despite collecting a hit in each of the first three innings, CUI was unable to push a run across until the final inning.
In the top of the seventh, Hanoian launched his second home run of the season to right center field, putting the Eagles on the board.
Shane Schick then singled to right field, quickly advancing and scoring on a pair of hits by Fowler and Moreno. Unfortunately, the Eagles' late push wasn't enough and FPU able to claim the second game of the doubleheader.
Despite providing quality starts all season, Concordia's starting pitcher
Matt Des Marets was unable to silence the Sunbird bats as they were able to put up five runs in five innings off the righty. The freshman still holds an ERA of 3.96, and ranks second on the team with 30 strikeouts on the season.
Noah McBride came in relief to pitch the sixth, throwing a hitless frame to keep the Eagles in the game. McBride has been lights out this season, only allowing four earned runs in 16.1 innings thus far. He has also struck out an impressive 25 batters, ranking first on the team in strikeouts per nine this season at 13.78.
Eagles return to action on the road on Friday, April 1
st, in the opener of a non-conference series against Azusa Pacific. CUI will then return home for a non-conference doubleheader vs APU on Saturday, April 2
nd, with the first game beginning at 2:00 PM.
Click HERE for the 2022 Baseball Schedule
