Stratton's Strong Scoreless Seven Secures First Season Win

AUBURNDALE, Fla. (02/28/22)---The Cobber bats arrived with the team on Saturday. The arrival of the pitching arms was delayed until late Sunday night. Concordia used the right arm of starting pitcher Ashwin Stratton to post a 5-2 win over Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Stratton threw 7.0 innings of shutout baseball, allowing six hits and no walks while striking out seven. Junior closer Luke Levasseur finished the game to record his first collegiate save. The two hurlers combined to help Concordia record their first win of the year.

The 7.0 innings ties Stratton's career record for his longest outing. He also went 7.0 innings last season against St. Thomas. The win is the second of his Cobber career.   

The Cobbers never trailed in the game as they scored the first three runs and then tacked on a 2-spot in the eighth inning.

Concordia started the scoring with a single run in the third when Matt Gruber singled home Max Boran after Boran led off the frame with a base knock.

The first 2-run inning for CC came in the fifth. Thomas Horan hit the gap with a 1-out double and then scored on a triple off the bat of Andy Gravdahl. Gravdahl scored on the very next at-bat when Gruber singled through the middle.

The 2-run eighth started when Wyatt Gunkel got hit by a pitch with one out. Justin Kloster coaxed a walk to push Gunkel to second. Boran then double home Gunkel with Kloster moving up to third. He would score when Dawson Leer laid down a bunt that was fielded by the first baseman whose only play was to go to first to get the out.

Both teams had 10 hits in the game. Gruber led all players with three hits. He went 3-for-4 on Monday after going 3-for-3 in the season opener. He also had a team-high two RBI to bring his season total to three.  

Gravdahl recorded his second multiple-hit game of the season. He was 2-for-5 and also came away with his second triple of the year. Gravdahl now has 11 career 3-baggers which is tied for the school record in that stat category.

Boran and Gunkel had the other multiple-hit games for CC. Boran was 2-for-4, recorded his second 2-hit game of the year and is now hitting .444. Gunkel got the call behind the plate for the first time in 2022 and went 2-for-3.

UP NEXT: Concordia will stay with the single-game schedule line in Florida when they face Waynesburg (Pa.) on Tuesday, Mar. 1 at 8 a.m.