Bulldogs use big eighth inning to pull away for 14-9 win over Nebraska Wesleyan

Concordia University picked up its fourth straight baseball win on Wednesday with a 14-9 victory over Nebraska Wesleyan.  Concordia improved to 8-7 with the win, while Nebraska Wesleyan dropped to 2-5.   

Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.  Concordia tied the game in the third inning.  With two outs in the inning, Zak Goodrich (Lutz, Fla.) walked and stole second base.  T.J. Conway (Crete, Neb.) followed with an RBI single to knot the score at 1-1.  The Bulldogs took advantage of a Wesleyan error to take a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning. 

The lead was short lived, however, as Nebraska Wesleyan scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to reclaim a 3-2 lead. 

In the top of the fifth, Concordia scored a pair of runs on three hits.  Kyle Ivanoff (Tucson, Ariz.) stole home, and Goodrich scored on an RBI single by Anthony Flores (Craig, Colo.).  The Bulldogs took a 4-3 lead on the single by Flores.   

A big bottom of the fifth inning put Wesleyan back in front.  The Prairie Wolves scored four runs on three hits and one Concordia error to take a 7-4 lead heading into the sixth inning. 

The Bulldogs scored a single run in the sixth on an RBI single by Tate Bedwell (Colorado Springs, Colo.).  Wesleyan quickly responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the seventh to take an 8-5 lead. 

Concordia took control of the game with a huge eighth inning.  The Bulldogs scored seven runs on just five hits and two Wesleyan errors to grab a 12-8 lead.  Goodrich had the big hit in the inning with a 2-run triple.  Martin Rodriguez (Tucson, Ariz.), Conway and Ray Finley (Tucson, Ariz.) also drove in runs for the Bulldogs in the eighth. 

Nebraska Wesleyan cut the lead to three (12-9) with a run in the bottom of the eighth, but Concordia responded with two more runs in the top of the ninth.  Flores delivered a key 2-run single for the final score of 14-9. 

Both teams finished with 15 hits in the contest.  Goodrich, Conway and Flores did most of the damage at the top of the order for Concordia.  The trio combined to go 8-for-16 with seven runs scored and seven RBI’s in the Bulldog win.  Josh Anderson (Westminster, Colo.) picked up the win on the mound in relief for the Bulldogs.  A total of five Concordia pitchers saw action in the game. 

Concordia travels to Peru State College on March 19.