OAKLAND, Calif. – The CUI baseball team took both games of Wednesday's doubleheader against Holy Names, improving to 24-23-1 on the season. With their 24
th win, the 2022 squad becomes the winningest team in the school's NCAA DII era, passing the 2019 squad that accumulated a 23-24 record. The winningest season in program history belongs to the 2015 Eagles, who put together an impressive 49-18 record in Concordia's final season as a member of NAIA.
Game 1: CUI 23, HNU 11
Eagle batters were hit by a pitch 11 times in game one, setting a school record and tying for second most in a single game in NCAA DII history.
In addition to the 18 free passes in the game, the Green & Gold offense collected 16 hits to score a season-high 23 runs. That is the most runs CUI has scored in a game since they defeated La Sierra University by a score of 28-2 on
March 28, 2010, and the second time they've scored more than 20 runs this season.
Eight different batters recorded a hit in game one, six of which also recorded a double. Three batters went deep in the game, including two from
Tristan Hanoian for his fourth and fifth home runs of the season.
Kevin Fowler also hit his first career home run in the fifth inning on a 3-run shot to right field.
Richard Castro then went deep in the ninth for his team-leading 12
th home run of the season, moving into sole possession of fifth on CUI's single-season home run list.
Concordia received a solid start from
Matt Des Marets on the mound, who allowed three earned runs in 5.0 innings. The freshman was able to hold the Hawks at bay while CUI began to run away with the lead in the middle innings, ultimately leading to Des Marets' third win of the season. Three different relievers came out of the pen, capped off by
Nicholas Fay who threw a scoreless ninth on just eight pitches.
Game 2: CUI 11, HNU 8
Unlike like the slugfest that took place in game one, game two remained competitive until the final inning. After allowing three to score in the bottom of the second, the Eagles responded with four of their own in the third.
Alex Moreno hit a 2-run home run to right field for his first career home run.
Michael Dixon then doubled to right field, scoring
Shane Wallace to tie the game.
Nathan Benefeito singled two batters later, scoring Dixon to give the Eagles a 4-3 lead.
Holy Names fought back with four of their own over the next two innings, holding a 7-4 lead until the top of the seventh. Concordia once again took the lead after plating four in the top of the seventh on two hits and an error, with the big moment being a 2-run single to center field off the bat of Hanoian. HNU responded once again, this time scoring one in the bottom of the frame to tie the game back up at 8-8.
After a scoreless eighth, CUI jumped out to yet another lead on a
Philip Quartararo bomb to left field, scoring
Jack Colville. Moreno pushed across the final run of the game on a single to right field, scoring Hanoian to set the score at 11-8.
The Eagle bullpen shut down the Hawk bats, allowing a combined one earned run and four hits over 5.1 innings.
Carpenter Pagett and
Noah McBride dominated per usual, striking out 5 and 4 batters respectively. Both have done an impressive job at missing barrel this season, each holding a batting average against under .230, as well as sub .170 batting averages with runners on base. McBride earned the win, improving his perfect record to 4-0 on the season.
Eagles conclude the regular season tomorrow, May 12
th, with a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 PM.
Click HERE for the 2022 Baseball Schedule
