Close Games Close Out Cobbers' Week In Florida

DAVENPORT, Fla. (3/10/24)---Concordia lost a pair of close games to Wis.-Superior to end its annual Florida spring training trip. The Cobbers fell 4-2 in the first game and 4-1 in the nightcap.

Concordia leaves Florida with a 3-8 record. The Yellowjackets, who were just starting their schedule in Florida, are now 5-2 on the year.

Game 1: Concordia 2, UW-Superior 4
The Cobbers outscored Superior 2-1 in the final 5 innings of play in Game 1, unfortunately, a single run in the first and a 2-run second for the Yellowjackets proved to be the difference in the game.

Superior built a 4-0 lead with a lone run in the fifth before Concordia nearly tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Junior Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe and freshman Ben Shumansky started the 1-out rally when they coaxed back-to-back walks. After a fly ball out to right field, Henkemeyer-Howe and Shumansky pulled off the double steal to get a pair of runners in scoring position. Wyatt Gunkel was hit by a pitch to load the bases and then Chance Bye delivered a 2-run single to right field. Blake Vagle, who came on to pinch run for Gunkel, moved up to third base on the play. The rally ended there as the Yellowjackets brought on a reliever and he was able to get a strikeout to end the game.

 Concordia was outhit 9-1 in the opener. Bye's single in the seventh was the lone base knock for CC.

Carter Thielke started the game on the hill and went 3.0 innings. He gave up three runs on six hits and struck out a batter. Alex Rudquist entered the game in the fourth inning and finished the final 3.0 innings of work. He struck out four and allowed one run on three hits.

Game 2: Concordia  1, UW-Superior 4
The second game played out with the same storyline as the first. Superior was able to score three runs in the first two innings of play to grab a 3-1 lead.

Concordia countered with a lone run in the third before UWS finished off the scoring with an insurance tally in the seventh.

The Cobbers plated their run in the third when David Dorsey's 2-out, fielder's choice ground ball scored Caiden Kjelstrom. Kjelstrom got on base via a walk with no one out and then advanced to third on a wild pitch and another fielder's choice out.

Concordia had four hits in Game 2 with Kjelstrom, Jake Christianson, Henkemeyer-Howe and Justin Kloster all posting a single hit in the game.

Ben Trutwin, Grant Anderson and Bye handled the pitching duties in Game 2. Trutwin went the first 3.0 innings, gave up three runs and struck out six. Anderson followed with the next 3.0 innings and didn't concede a hit or a run and fanned three batters. Bye took the mound for the seventh, gave up an unearned run on a single hit and struck out one.

FLORIDA FACTS:
- Concordia hit .286 as a team in its 11 games in Florida. The Cobbers scored 51 runs and had a .955 fielding percentage.
- The Cobbers stole 21 bases in Florida with Thomas Horan and Dorsey swiping a team-best four bags each. Last year CC had a total of 36 steals in all 39 games.
- Wyatt Gunkel leads the team in hitting. He has a .360 average with a team-best .414 on-base percentage. He had at least one hit in six of the eight games he played and posted three hits against Calvin.
- Justin Kloster leads the team in hits with 11. He is also tied for second in RBI (7) and slugging percentage (.424).
- Thomas Horan has a team-best .455 slugging percentage which includes the team's lone homer of Florida as well as a pair of doubles.
- Jake Christianson leaves Florida with the longest on-base streak for CC. He has reached base in the past nine games he played in. Caiden Kjelstrom had his 9-game streak stopped in Game 1 against UWS.
- A trio of freshmen leads the Cobber pitching staff. Wyatt Mohr and Grant Anderson are tops in ERA, while Ben Trutwin has a team-high 16 strikeouts. Mohr fashioned a 2.35 ERA in three appearances and 7.2 innings pitched. Anderson has a 3.24 ERA in 8.1 IP and opponents are hitting only .172 which is the lowest mark of the CC staff.

UP NEXT: Concordia will return home and then head to Nebraska next weekend to face Neb. Wesleyan
in a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday, Mar. 16 and Sunday, Mar. 17.