Bulldogs take first game with Mount Marty, but drop finale
The Concordia University, Nebraska, baseball program split two games with the Mount Marty Lancers on Tuesday, April 17. The Bulldogs took game one, 5-3, but dropped the second contest, 8-5.
Following Tuesday's action the Bulldogs are 21-22 on the season and 6-6 in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) play. The Lancers moved to 15-24 overall and 4-8 in GPAC action.
Game One: Concordia 5, Mounty Marty 3
Trailing 2-0 entering the bottom of the second, the Bulldogs erased their deficit with three runs on three hits.
Freshman Daniel Wilkerson (Santa Fe, Texas) got things rolling for Concordia with a one-out walk. Senior Brandon Pflug (Ft. Morgan, Colo.) followed with a single to center to put runners at first and second. After a fielder's choice by senior Martin Rodriguez (Tucson, Ariz.) forced Wilkerson at third. Senior Zak Goodrich (Lutz, Fla.) made it 2-1 with a bloop single into right field to drive in Pflug and chase Rodriguez to third. Moments later, Goodrich swiped second to put two runners in scoring position. Junior Kyle Ivanoff (Tucson, Ariz.) took Goodrich's hint and laced a two-run single into right field, giving the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead.
Concordia added an insurance run in the fourth on a one-out single by Pflug, a two-out single by Goodrich that sent Pflug to third and an error by the Lancers catcher, Kyler Pekerak, as he tried to catch Pflug at third.
Mount Marty pulled back within a run at 4-3 in the fifth, but Concordia salted the game away on an RBI single from Rodriguez in the sixth.
Senior hurler, Steven Ivanoff (Tucson, Ariz.), earned his sixth victory of the season (6-3) with a strong performance. Ivanoff tossed 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and striking out four.
Mount Marty starter Cassidy Darlington (3-3) took the loss, surrendering five runs (four earned) on seven hits and three walks in five innings.
Game Two: Mounty Marty 8, Concordia 5
The Lancers jumped out to an early 2-0 in the first inning on a two-run home run over the left field wall by Jason Schmidt.
Concordia answered with a single run in the bottom half of the frame on a one-out walk by Kyle Ivanoff, a double that one-hopped the left field wall by freshman Andrew Yerrell (Santa Fe, Texas) and a sacrifice fly by junior Ray Finley (Tucson, Ariz.).
The score remained 2-1 until the Lancers tacked on a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to push their lead to 5-1.
The Bulldogs responded in the bottom of the fifth, thanks in part to a Mount Marty error. Rodriguez pushed a single through the right side with one out, then Goodrich lifted a single into right field. Mount Marty's Mathias Godsil misplayed the ball, allowing Rodriguez to score and Goodrich to take third. The next batter, Ivanoff, drove home Goodrich with an RBI ground out to short to make it 5-3.
Concordia returned the favor, however, in the top of the sixth as a costly error by Ivanoff led to three Lancers' runs.
Trailing 8-3, Concordia plated two runs in the sixth but couldn't overcome the large deficit.
Concordia freshman Kyle Godfrey (Firestone, Colo.) suffered the loss (2-3) as he gave up five runs on seven hits and a walk in 4.2 innings.
Mount Marty's Allen Hemeyer countered with a complete game to move to 4-3 on the year. He allowed five runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk in seven innings.
The Bulldogs return to the diamond on Saturday, April 21 as Concordia travels to Orange, Iowa to play a doubleheader against Morningside at 1 p.m.
