LINCOLN, Neb. (3/23/14)—Concordia continued to use its explosive offense to win games. The Cobbers scored a total of 28 runs and had 35 hits in their three wins at Nebraska Wesleyan. CC beat the Prairie Wolves 9-1, 7-4 and 12-8 to win their fourth straight game and up their overall record to 6-5 on the season.
The three wins push Concordia head coach Bucky Burgau to the brink of another coaching milestone. Burgau needs only one more victory to reach the 700 career win plateau. Burgau is now 699-608-6 in his years of coaching at Concordia and North Dakota State University.
The Cobbers were forced to play a tripleheader on Sunday after the two games at Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday were postponed due to cold weather. Concordia continued to add to their impressive offensive total in the three games on Sunday. CC has now scored at least seven runs in seven of their past eight games and is averaging 8.18 runs per game in their first 11 games of the season.
In addition to their lofty scoring numbers, Concordia is now hitting .321 as a team and has an on-base percentage of .405.
The Cobbers were led by senior designated hitter Michael Olson on Sunday. Olson went 7-for-11 (.636), scored five runs and drove in five runs. He had at least one hit in all three games and has now hit safely in every game this season. He currently has a 16-game hitting streak dating back to the end of the 2013 season. With his three-game attack of the Prairie Wolve pitching staff, Olson upped his team-leading batting average to .419 on the season.
Concordia used a pair of four-run innings in the opener and the strength of pitcher Jackson Meland to earn a 9-1 win. The Cobbers score four runs in the third inning to break open a 1-1 tie and then sealed the victory with four more in the top of the seventh.
Concordia had 11 hits in the first game – nine of which came in the third and seventh frames. CC had three players with two hits and Jordan Gefroh had a two-run triple in the third.
Meland pitched all seven innings for Concordia and allowed only one earned run and four hits. He struck out three and didn't walk a batter as he lowered his season earned run average to 4.50.
The Cobbers scored at least one run in each of the first five innings of the second game to take a 7-2 lead and then held on for the 7-4 win. CC had 10 hits in the middle contest and had three players with two hits each. Olson was 2-for-4 while leadoff hitter Kyle Kraemer went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and Jordan Domine was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Eric Carlsen had a team-high two RBI in the second game.
Concordia used three pitchers in the second game. Shawn Krueger started and went the first 5.2 innings. He gave up four earned runs on 10 hits and picked up his team-leading third win of the season. Sam Mattson pitched a scoreless sixth inning and gave way to Bryce Feia who didn't allow a hit in the seventh and recorded his third save of the young season.
The final game came down to one inning. The Cobbers scored 11 of their 12 overall runs in the fourth inning. CC had 11 hits in the game-deciding inning and sent 15 batters to the plate.
Concordia finished the game with 14 overall hits. Olson led the way by going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Gefroh had his second triple of the day when he connected on a bases loaded three bagger in the fourth. He was 2-for-4 for the game and 3-for-7 (.429) with a team-high six RBI for the afternoon.
Phil Kuball, Braden Rahman and Devin Johnson all had two hits in the finale.
Ross Merriman pitched the first five innings and earned his first win of the season. He allowed five runs on six hits. Justin Anderson appeared in his second game of the year and pitched a scoreless sixth inning He was relieved by Cooper Wilson who finished off the game and the three-game series.
Concordia will host Minn.-Morris in the home opener on Wednesday, Mar. 26 at 2:30 p.m. A win against the Cougars will give Burgau his milestone 700th career coaching victory. Burgau was 693-603-6 entering the year with his 35 seasons at Concordia and four at NDSU. He will become the 12th active coach in NCAA Division III to eclipse the 700-win milestone and only the third college coach in the state of Minnesota to reach that mark.
