Baseball swept up by No. 24 Northwestern
By Taylor Mueller, Sports Information Assistant
ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Concordia baseball squads suffered two tough defeats to Northwestern College on Saturday, dropping a double header 3-1 and 14-1. Concordia fell to 3-7 in the GPAC, 13-21 overall.
Squaring off against a 24th-ranked Northwestern team, the Bulldogs played strong defense in game one, though they struggled to gain offensive momentum.
The Bulldogs got things started with Josh Mondt’s two-out single to bring in Camaren Gause and take an early 1-0 lead. Northwestern answered, however, in the bottom of the second, after some Bulldog defensive miscues produced the game tying run, bringing the score to 1-1. Despite a strong defensive effort and pitching by Jaydee Jurgensen (5 IP, 6H, 2ER, 1BB, 3K), Northwestern tacked on another run in the bottom of the third and fifth innings to seal the deal.
The Bulldogs came close several times to scoring runs that could either have taken the lead or tied up the ballgame.
In the fourth inning, Taylor Dudley was called out in at home after a Mondt single nearly brought him in. In the fifth and seventh innings, Concordia put men on third both times, but were unable to score them.
“In game one, we competed very well,” head coach Jeremy Geidel said. “Jaydee pitched very well and we played well defensively. We had opportunities to score runs and had some plays go against us at home and we didn’t get the big hit we normally would.
“We played well that first game and had a chance to beat a good team. When you make mistakes or bad pitches against a team like that they’re going to make you pay. You have a very small margin of error.”
In game two, Concordia’s bats were ready as they connected for four hits in the first inning. The Bulldogs again jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first when a Taylor Dudley single scored Zach Cambier. It would be all the Bulldogs could muster, however, as Northwestern used some powerful hitting to take the second match.
In examining areas that need improvement, Geidel noted that Concordia needed to get its usual production back from the heart of the lineup.
The Bulldogs will travel to Sioux City, Iowa on Mon, April 14 to take on Morningside College in a double header.
