AUBURNDALE, Fla. (2/26/16)—A pair of fresh faces on the mound coupled with a trio of veteran hitters helped the Cobbers post two big wins on the fifth day of their spring trip to Florida.
Senior Tim Carlson went 3-for-5 while Aaron Green drove in two runs in Concordia's 5-3 win over Lyndon State in the first game. Then Chad Johnson 3-for-4 and drove in all four CC runs in the team's early-season signature win over nationally ranked St. John Fisher.
While the old guys supplied the offense it was a pair of "new look" Cobbers that starred on the hill. Freshman Fletcher Andel went 7.0 innings and didn't allow a hit in his first collegiate start to beat Lyndon State.
In the win over St. John Fisher, sophomore Joe Hallock came on in the ninth inning to record his second save of the season.
The two wins up the Cobbers' win streak to three games and moves their overall record to 5-2.
It was Andel's world in the opener and the Hornets were just players. He struck out seven in seven innings of work and only allowed four base runners. After a second-inning walk he retired eight straight hitters and then finished off his start with 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh frames.
Sam Mattson and Hallock finished off the game on the hill for CC.
Concordia scored single runs in the first and third innings and then got out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the ninth. Green's single in the ninth drove in two runs and proved to be the margin of victory.
The top 3 hitters in the CC lineup all had multiple-hit games. Leadoff hitter Phil Kuball was 2-for-4 while Green went 2-for-5 and Carlson was 3-for-5. The trio combined for seven of the team's nine hits in the game.
The second game was a testament to college baseball as two good teams squared off in an early-season battle.
Concordia fell behind 3-0 in the fourth inning before tying the game with two runs in the fourth and one sixth. All three runs were driven in by Johnson.
Johnson then produced the game-winning RBI in eighth frame when he doubled home Jordan Domine who led off the inning with a single.
Johnson would finish the game with three of the team's seven hits.
Ross Merriman struggled through the early innings as he gave up six hits and three runs in four innings. Merriman then found his groove and then retired 12 straight hitters after giving up a leadoff single in the fifth.
Hallock, the heir apparent to All-Region closer Bryce Feia, took the ball in the ninth and set the Cardinals down in order.
Besides the three-hit day for Johnson, Domie was 2-for-3 and Alex Sandahl came up with the other hit.
WHAT'S NEXT
Concordia will have a single game on Saturday when they square off against Augustana at 12:30. The Cobbers dropped a 10-4 decision to the Vikings in the season opener.
