Going Out A Winner

Going Out A Winner

MOORHEAD, Minn. (5/05/14)—It was only fitting that Hall of Fame coach Bucky Burgau would walk off his field as a winner. Concordia was able to gain a split against Bethel by winning the second 9-6. The win, in the final home game of Burgau's illustrious coaching career came on the day when the field was named in his honor.

The win in the second game was Bugau's 410th career victory and put an exclamation point on his 36-year career at Concordia. The Cobbers are now 17-16 overall in 2014 and finish the MIAC season with a 9-11 record.

Concordia's seasonal statistical leaders led the charge in the nightcap. Batting average leader Jordan Gefroh was one of five hitters who had more than one hit as they paced the 14-hit attack. Gefroh went 2-for-5 and drove in two runs.

Cobber starting pitcher Shawn Krueger added to his team-leading win total. He pitched the first 4.1 innings and gave up just two earned runs and six hits. Krueger is now 6-2 on the season. Bryce Feia collected his team-leading fifth save of the year by closing out the final two innings without giving up a hit and striking out four Bethel batters.    

Concordia broke open a 1-0 game by scoring four runs in the fourth inning. The biggest hot was a two-run single from Phil Kuball. Kuball was 2-for-5 with the pair of RBI in the finale. CC leadoff hitter Eric Carlsen led all players with three hits. He went 3-for-5, scored in two runs and knocked home two other runs.

The Cobbers never led in the opener. Concordia got behind 2-0 in the very first frame but then tied the game on Gefroh's team-leading fifth home run of the season. The 2-2 would only last until the top of the third when the Royals responded with a trio of runs to grab a 5-2 lead. CC's last two scores in the game also came via the long ball. Michael Olson hammered a two-run shot to left field in the sixth inning to get the Cobbers within two at 6-4.

Concordia had four hits in the opener with four different players getting a single base knock. Gefroh had a base hit in both games against Bethel and has hit safely in five straight games and in 25 of the 28 games he has played this season.  He is now hitting .426 in all games and .457 in conference play and has an MIAC-leading .786 slugging percentage. Gefroh is in the top 5 in the conference in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in conference games.    

The Cobbers used a pair of pitchers in the first game. Senior Jackson Meland went the first 6.0 innings and allowed five earned runs. Cooper Wilson came in at the start of the seventh inning and retired three of the four hitters he faced and didn't allow a hit.

Burgau will now finish off his storied career when he guides the Cobbers against the Gophers at Siebert Field in Minneapolis on Wednesday, May. 7.