Ivanoff brothers and Wilkerson power Concordia past Midland
Led by a complete game shutout from senior Steven Ivanoff (Tucson, Ariz.) and a three-run home from freshman Daniel Wilkerson (Santa Fe, Texas), the Concordia University, Nebraska, baseball team dominated Midland University, 6-0, in a game one of a doubleheader on Saturday, April 7.
Junior Kyle Ivanoff (Tucson, Ariz.) delivered a 3-for-4 two RBI effort to lead the Bulldogs to a 12-4 in the second half of the doubleheader.
The victories evened the Bulldogs record at 19-19 on the season and 4-4 in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) play. The Warriors, meanwhile, dropped to 9-25 overall and 4-4 in the GPAC.
Game One: Concordia 6, Midland 0
The Bulldogs jumped all over the Warriors in the bottom of the first, plating five runs on five hits.
Senior Zak Goodrich (Lutz, Fla.) got things going with a single to center, Kyle Ivanoff sacrificed him to second, then freshman Andrew Yerrell (Santa Fe, Texas) provided an RBI single to right field to make it 1-0. Junior Ray Finley (Tucson, Ariz.) delivered a single into right, chasing Yerrell to third, then a double steal by courtesy runner sophomore Joe Brandenburg (Waconia, Minn.) and Yerrell pushed the Bulldogs lead to 2-0.
Senior Anthony Flores (Craig, Colo.) sent Brandenburg to third on Concordia's fourth consecutive single to right, setting the stage for Wilkerson. Sitting dead red with a 3-1 count, Wilkerson made the most of his opportunity by driving a fastball from Midland's Dillion Stockton over the right-center field wall to make it 5-0.
That was more than Steven Ivanoff needed as the right hander limited Midland to five hits in a complete game shutout. It was the fifth time in eight starts that he has gone the distance. Steven needed just 95 pitches to pick up his fifth win (5-3) of the year.
Stockton fell to 2-5, surrendering six runs on eight hits in six innings.
Game Two: Concordia 12, Midland 4
Concordia offense continued to roll in game two, putting three on the board in the second on four hits and two Midland errors. The key play came with one out and senior Martin Rodriguez (Tucson, Ariz.) at third. Kyle Ivanoff dropped a perfect safety squeeze down the third base line for a single and to drive in Rodriguez.
Midland answered with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth and it stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth.
Flores got the Bulldog bats going in the fifth with a leadoff double down the left field line. Concordia went on to capitalize of a couple of Midland mental errors, grabbing a 6-3 lead. The Bulldogs added a ton of insurance in the bottom of the sixth, scoring six runs. The Bulldogs played station to station ball, sending 11 men to the plate and delivered six hits in the inning.
Sophomore Heath Benker (Florence, Colo.) came on to preserve the 4-4 tie with two-third of an inning of scoreless relief to earn the win (2-1). Midland's John Faulkner (1-1) was tagged with the loss as he allowed three runs on six hits in 2.2 innings of relief.
Concordia returns to action on Wednesday, April 11 as the Bulldogs travel to Lincoln, Neb. for a single non-conference game at Nebraska Wesleyan.
