The Concordia University baseball team earned a dramatic 5-4 extra- inning victory before falling 9-8 in a Friday afternoon doubleheader with GPAC foe Dana College at Vets Field in Blair, Neb.
In game one the two teams needed ten innings to settle the game. In the top of the tenth with the score tied 4-4, nine-hole hitter Ben Placzek led off with a single. Placzek moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by leadoff hitter Morgan Blatnik. Placzek then scored when fellow freshman outfielder Zach Goodrich singled through the box, and the Dana centerfielder bobbled the ball. In the bottom of the tenth, Peyton McLachlan got the heart of the Viking lineup to go down without a fight with only one runner reaching base via an error.
Concordia reliever Josh Anderson picked up the win throwing three complete innings and giving up just two hits and no runs. McLachlan picked up the save, his first of the 2009 season, throwing two complete innings, allowing no hits, no runs and striking out two. Placzek, Blatnik and Goodrich, along with Jamie Dillard and Jack Holmberg, all had multiple hits in game one to lead the Concordia offense.
Game two saw the Bulldogs take an 8-4 lead into the sixth inning on the strength of a big fourth inning in which Concordia scored five runs and a strong fifth inning in which the Bulldogs pushed across another pair of runs. The fortunes changed in the bottom of the sixth when errors and walks led to the Vikings scoring five to take a 9-8 lead. In the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs again got a leadoff single from Placzek; this time, however, he was taken off the base paths when Blatnik reached on a fielder's choice, and the Vikings retired Placzek at second. The next two Concordia batters failed to connect, ending the hopes of the Bulldogs for their first sweep of the season.
Steven Ivanoff was tagged with the loss for the Bulldogs, throwing 5 1-3 innings and giving up eight hits and seven runs although just one of the runs was earned.