Split Sends Cobbers Home at 11-2

LINCOLN, Neb. (3/22/15)—Concordia was held under 10 hits in a game for the first time in 2015 and wound up splitting a pair of games at Nebraska Wesleyan on Sunday. The Cobbers couldn't string together hits in the opener and lost 4-0 but then exploded for 11 base knocks in the second game and won 8-1.

Concordia won three of the four games on the weekend over the Prairie Wolves and moves its overall season record to 11-2. The two losses are tied for the fewest among teams in the MIAC. Nebraska Wesleyan is now 4-10 in 2015.

The Cobbers had seven hits in the opener but stranded nine base runners and were 2-for-16 (.125) with runners on base as they lost for the first time in five games. The Prairie Wolves did the majority of their scoring in the game in the second inning when they scored three runs on four hits.

The second game was a return to form for the Concordia offense. The Cobbers had 11 hits, had a pair of multiple-run innings and had three doubles. CC also turned the tables in the batters' box with runners on base and runners in scoring position. Concordia hit .450 (9-for-20) with runners on base and .437 (7-for-16) with runners in scoring position.

Concordia didn't let the offensive struggles carry over into game 2 as they scored four times in the very first inning of the finale. The Cobbers sent eight hitters to the plate in the first inning and collected five hits, two shy of their total in the first game, and took an early 4-0 lead.

All four runs came with two outs in the inning with the biggest hit coming from Chad Johnson who drove in two runs with a single to center field.

The four runs would be all that freshman starter Tanner Kluis would need in the game. He pitched the first six innings, didn't allow an earned run, gave up only one and struck out four. Kluis walked only one batter in picking up his second win of the season. He also lowered his season ERA to 2.55.

Bryce Feia came on in the seventh inning and retired all three batters he faced.

Concordia added four more runs in the top of the seventh inning. They cranked out four hits in the frame with Nick Bornhauser getting a two-run single.  

The Cobbers had four different players with two hits in the second game and the first seven batters in the CC order had at least one hit. Johnson and Bornhauser were both 2-for-3 in the game. Bornhauser had three RBI.   

Phil Kuball and Devin Johnson were the other two Concordia hitters with a pair of hits in the 8-1 win. Both players were 2-for-4 in the game.

Kuball and leadoff hitter Aaron Green hit safely in both games and extended their hitting streaks to 13 games. Kuball was 1-for-4 in the opener and is now hitting .377 for the year. Green was 2-for-4 in the first game and 1-for-4 in the last contest and is hitting .404 in his first year with the Cobbers.

Concordia used three pitchers in the first game. Billy Jacobson started the game and went the first 4.2 innings. He allowed six hits and three earned runs. Turner Storm finished off the fifth inning and then started the sixth. Sam Mattson came on in the sixth and cleaned up the final three outs.

The Cobbers will now hopefully host the home opener on Tuesday, Mar. 24 when they square off against Jamestown in a single 9-inning game starting at 3:30 p.m. Concordia is then scheduled to host Minn.-Morris in a doubleheader on Wednesday, Mar. 25 at 1 p.m.