MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (4/16/16)—It was a return to offensive baseball and Concordia had the last say as they scored five runs in the ninth inning of the second game to rally for a 9-6 win and gain a split at Augsburg.
The Cobbers gave up two big innings in the third and fourth frames in the opener and lost 10-8.
The win in the second game was huge for the Cobbers in conference play. CC was on the verge of its sixth league loss in the first eight games but the rally helps CC get to 3-5 and stay tied for fourth in the number of MIAC losses. Concordia is now 13-12 in all games. Augsburg is one of the teams the Cobbers are tied with for five conference losses. The Auggies are 5-5 in the MIAC and 15-13 overall.
Concordia entered the ninth inning in Game 2 trailing 6-4. Tim Carlson led off with a walk and after Jordan Domine reached on a fielder's choice, the Cobbers got the next four batters on base and took a 7-6 lead. The two biggest hits were doubles from Aaron Green and Joe Hallock.
After the second out in the inning, Chad Johnson singled through the left side to plate two more runs and give Concordia two insurance runs.
Hallock then sent down Augsburg in order in the bottom of the ninth to earn his second win of the season. Hallock entered the game in the eighth inning and pitched two scoreless frames.
CC scored a single run in the first and then two more in the third to take a 3-1 lead. The Auggies scored three in the fifth and then two more in the seventh to grab the 6-4 lead.
Concordia outhit Augsburg 10-7 in the second game. The Cobbers had all nine hitters in their starting lineup get at least one hit. Johnson was the only CC player with more than one hit. He went 2-for-5 and had three RBI and scored two runs.
The tone for the afternoon was set in the very first inning of the opener. Concordia scored three times in the top of the first and then the Auggies followed with two in the bottom of the frame. Augsburg added four in the third and then three in the fourth to sprint out to a 9-3 lead. CC had a four-run fifth but could never get within two.
The Cobbers also had 10 hits in the first game. Phil Kuball, Carlson and Domine carried the load for the offense. The three players combined for eight of the 10 base knocks. Kuball was 3-for-5 while Carlson went 2-for-4 and Domine was 3-for-4.
IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN
The win in the ninth inning in the second game marked the first time all season that the Cobbers had won a game when trailing after seven innings. CC was 0-6 heading into the nightcap.
RETURN OF THE BATS
Concordia scored 17 runs and had double-digit hit totals in both games against Augsburg. The 17 runs were more than they had scored in the past five games and it had been six games since the Cobbers had more than nine hits in a game. CC is now 5-2 when they score at least six runs in a game and are 6-5 when they have a double-digit hit total.
DOUBLE TIME
Concordia had five doubles against Augsburg and now has 56 doubles for the season. The Cobbers are currently third in the MIAC in that stat category. Tim Carlson leads the team in doubles with nine. He is tied for seventh in the MIAC.
WHAT'S NEXT
Concordia will finish off its 10-game road trip when they play at Carleton on Wednesday, Apr. 20 at 2:30 and 5:00. The Knights are one of the surprise teams of the MIAC this year. They are in second place in the league standings with a 5-2 record after being picked to finish ninth in the preseason coaches' poll.
