A Domin(e)ant Day On The Diamond

MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/30/16)—It was a Domin(e)ant day for Concordia as sophomore Tanner Kluis led a pitching staff which held Macalester  to one run and five hits. The offense was highlighted by senior Jordan Domine who collected his 100th career hit and helped the Cobbers score 21 runs and collect 26 hits in an 8-0, 13-1 sweep over the Scots.

The two wins runs the Cobbers' win streak to four straight games. CC has now won seven of its past nine games. Concordia is 19-14 overall and 9-7 in the MIAC. The sweep also keeps the Cobbers in the thick of the conference playoff race. CC is in fifth place and one game behind fourth place for the final conference tournament spot. Macalester drops its third straight and is now 15-16 overall and 5-13 in league play.

Kluis set the tone for the series in the first three innings of Game 1. Kluis retired the first nine batters he faced and the offense used that to take a 3-0 lead into the fourth frame.

Kluis gave up a single hit in the fourth and fifth but then retired the final six batters he faced to earn his second win of the season.

Kluis only allowed one batter to get past second base and was helped by a huge defensive play in the fifth when Cobber left fielder Aaron Green threw out a base runner who was attempting to tag up and score from third on a fly ball.

Concordia's offense had 12 hits in the first game. The Cobbers had five players collect two hits each. Phil Kuball and Tim Carlson went 2-for-4 while Turner Storm and Matt Ziebarth were 2-for-3. No.9 hitter Alex Sandahl went 2-for-2 and had the first of his two triples on the day.

Domine went 1-for-4 and his hit in the third inning was his 99th career hit.

Concordia put the second game away in the third inning when they scored seven runs on six hits and sent 12 batters to the plate. The two biggest hits were a two-run triple off the bat of Carlson and a two-run single from Green.

The Cobbers then scored a single run in the fourth, two in the fifth and three more in the sixth to end the game after seven innings.

The highlight hit of the day came in the fourth inning when Domine recorded his 100th career hit. He wasn't able to reach the milestone in his first two at-bats and then made a statement when he hammered the first pitch he saw in the fourth over the left field fence. Domine becomes the 22nd player in program history to reach the 100-hit mark.

All nine Cobber starters in the batting order had at least one hit. Like the opener, CC had five players with two hits. Kuball, Storm and Sandahl were the repeat multiple-hit players for Concordia. Chad Johnson went 2-for-5 and Green went 2-for-3 with a team-high three RBI.

Concordia used three pitchers to shut down the Scot offense. Cole Christensen started the game and went the first five innings. He didn't allow an earned run and only three hits. He struck out five in picking up his third win of the season.  

Zack Nelson and Fletcher Andel finished off the game by pitching a single inning each. Neither pitcher allowed a hit as the pair pitch a pair of perfect innings.

THE 100-HIT CLUB
Concordia has now had two players reach the 100-hit milestone this season and has another current player with more than 100 hits. Besides Domine, seniors Tim Carlson and Phil Kuball are also in the 100-hit club. Carlson now has 126 career hits and is 12th on the school's all-time hit list.

Kuball had four hits on Saturday and now has 152 career hits which is second on the Cobber hit list.

Concordia might have one more player join the 100-hit club this season. Cody Rahman had a single hit in the DH and now has 94 career hits.

CLOSING IN ON COSTE
Phil Kuball's 152 career hits is 10 behind the school record of 162 hits which is held by head coach Chris Coste.

TRIPLE CROWN
Alex Sandahl had a triple in each game of the DH and now has five triples this season. That mark is tied for second in the MIAC and is the second most in Cobber history. The CC record for triples in a single season is six which was set by Scott Oeffling in 1988.

DAILY DOUBLE
Concordia had seven doubles in the two games against Macalester. CC now has 79 doubles on the year which leads the MIAC. The average of 2.39 doubles per game is 17th best in Division III.

EXTRA BASE EXTRAS
The Cobbers had 12 extra-base hits on Saturday. Concordia is second in the conference in extra-base hits and third in home runs.

WHAT'S NEXT
Concordia will square off against Division I cross-town opponent NDSU on Tuesday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. at Newman Outdoor Stadium. CC will then host a huge conference doubleheader on Wednesday against St. Mary's. The Cardinals are directly above the Cobbers in the MIAC standings. The Bison are 23-18 on the year and have won four straight including a 7-4 win over No.19 ranked University of Minnesota.