Concordia closes out regular season with a split against Hastings
The Concordia University, Nebraska, baseball team closed out the 2012 regular season with a split against Hastings College on Sunday, April 29. Concordia suffered a 6-0 defeat in game one, but closed the doubleheader with a 4-1 win.
Following Sunday's action, Concordia finished its regular season at 25-26 overall and 10-10 in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) action. Hastings, meanwhile, moved to 13-35 on the season and 6-14 in GPAC action.
Game One: Hastings 6, Concordia 0
The first game could have started worse as the Bulldogs went down in order in the top of the first, then Hastings opened their half with five consecutive hits. The Broncos went on to score five runs in the first off Concordia starter, senior Steven Ivanoff (Tucson, Ariz.)
Hastings added an unearned run in the second, while the Bulldogs offense struggled throughout the game. Concordia managed just four hits and only five base runners in the game.
Ivanoff dropped to 7-4 with the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits and a walk in two innings. Hastings' Kirby Wells moved to 3-4 with a complete game shutout, limiting Concordia to four singles.
Game Two: Concordia 4, Hastings 1
Senior Zak Goodrich (Lutz, Fla.) gave the Bulldogs a jump start in game two, opening the game with a single to center. Although that hit didn't yield any results, Goodrich tried again in the third, blasting a two-out double into left-center. This time Concordia made the most of the opportunity as senior Martin Rodriguez (Tucson, Ariz.) punched an RBI single to right. Rodriguez took second on the throw to the plate, then scored himself on an RBI single to left by junior Kyle Ivanoff (Tucson, Ariz.).
Hastings, however, came back with a run of its own in the bottom of the third on three singles. Fortunately Concordia freshman Kyle Godfrey (Firestone, Colo.) limited the damage to just one run by retiring the final two batters in the third on a pop up and a ground out.
The score remained 2-1 until the top of the seventh, when freshmen Andrew Yerrell (Santa Fe, Texas) and Daniel Wilkerson (Santa Fe, Texas) each delivered RBI singles to push the Bulldogs' lead to 4-1.
Senior Josh Anderson (Westminster, Colo.) worked a scoreless seven to preserve Concordia's win and pick up his sixth save of the year.
Godfrey allowed one run on seven hits, while striking out six over five innings to move to 3-3 overall. Hastings' John LaMaster took the loss (2-5), surrendering two runs on six hits over five innings.
The split left Concordia in a tie for sixth place in the GPAC. The Bulldogs finished tied with Mount Marty at 10-10. The two teams split two contests this season, but the Bulldogs were awarded the sixth seed in the GPAC Tournament due to a win over No. 2 seed, Morningside.
Concordia will face the No. 3 seeded Nebraska Wesleyan (18-20, 12-8) Prairie Wolves in the opening round of the GPAC Tournament on Thursday, May 3. Nebraska Wesleyan and Concordia met in a conference doubleheader in Seward, Neb. on Saturday, April 28. The Bulldogs took the first game 6-5 (8), but dropped the second contest, 5-2. The Prairie Wolves also bested Concordia in a non-conference meeting, 2-0, on April 11.
