Cobbers Open Season In Florida

DAVENPORT, Fla. (3/03/24)---Concordia opened the 2024 season by dropping a pair of games to Marian (Wis.) to start their annual training trip in Florida.

The Cobbers scored the first three runs of the day against the Panthers but then gave up 18 unanswered runs over the next 12 innings and lost 8-3 and 10-0. The two losses end CC's 4-game win streak against Marian.

Game 1
The 2024 campaign couldn't have gotten off to a better start with the Cobbers plating two runs in the first frame and one more in the second. Jake Christianson and Caiden Kjelstrom coaxed walks to begin the game and then Thomas Horan legged out an infield single to load the bases. Congrats to anyone who had Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe in the pool for the first RBI of the season. His sac fly to center field brought in Christianson. The second run also came home via the sacrifice fly as Wyatt Gunkel plated Kjelstrom with a fly ball to left field.

Concordia made it a 3-0 lead when senior Justin Kloster singled home Chance Bye, who had left off the second with an infield single.

Marian started their run streak in the bottom of the third when they scored three times on three hits. They would score the game-winning run when they added another 3-run inning in the fourth. The Panthers tacked on two more runs to bring the final total to 8-3.

Both teams had 12 hits in the opener. The Cobbers 12 hits consisted of all singles. Christianson, Kjelstrom, Bye and Kloster led the way with two hits each. Horan, Henkemeyer-Howe, Gunkel and David Dorsey all collected their first hits of the year.

Concordia used four pitchers in Game 1. Jacoby Nold got the start and went 3.2 innings. He allowed six runs on nine hits and struck out three. Ethan Beyer, J Riley Ohm and Bergen Baumann all saw their first action of the season with Bauman being the most effective. He pitched a clean sixth inning and struck out two batters.

Game 2
Marian wasted little time in getting on the board in the second game. They scored at least one run in the first four innings, including crooked numbers in the second, third and fourth frames.

The Cobbers were held to only two hits in the second game. Bye recorded the first hit of the game for Concordia when he singled up the middle with two outs in the fifth inning. The second CC base knock came in the seventh inning when freshman Ben Shumansky collected his first collegiate hit with a single to left field.

Sophomore Carter Thielke, freshman Thad Lieser and junior Dylan Erholtz split the pitching duties in the finale. Thielke started and went 4.0 innings. Lieser allowed only one run on one hit in the fifth and sixth frames, while Erholtz closed out the game in the seventh inning.

UP NEXT: Concordia will continue with their play in Florida when they square off against Calvin (Mich.) in a single game on Monday, Mar. 4 at 1 p.m.