Concordia's Roberto Reyes collected five hits, a run and an RBI in a doubleheader split against Oregon Tech.
Cavs Win, Lose by 4-3 Scores against Oregon Tech
PORTLAND, Ore. – After a 4-3 win in a seven-inning opener against Oregon Tech, Concordia dropped a 4-3 decision to the Owls in the nightcap in Cascade Collegiate Conference action at The Yard on Saturday.
With the results, Concordia moved to 14-23 on the year with an 8-7 mark in league play while OIT finished the day 19-26 overall and 6-12 in league play.
Casey McLeod (Milwaukie, Ore./Rex Putnam H.S.) provided Concordia with two early runs with a first-inning homer with teammate Ben Lanier (Kinston, N.C./Kinston H.S.) on first, but after five shutout innings by CU starter Ben Rue (Silverton, Ore./Silverton H.S.), the Owls scratched together three runs in the sixth via a pair of walks and a single before Bryan Barrington (Palo Cedro, Calif.) connected on a base-clearing double for three RBI’s and the OIT lead.
The Cavs would respond with clutch hitting in the bottom of the seventh as two-out doubles by Tommy Whalen (Encinitas, Calif./Skyview H.S.) and Sean Strachan (Portland, Ore./Roosevelt H.S.) tied the game at 3-3 before Roberto Reyes (Monterrey, Mexico) gave the Cavs a walk-off win with a single down the right line to send Strachan home from second.
Coming on in relief, Brett Hawley (Bellevue, Wash./Newport H.S.) snared the win by recording the final four outs, two by strikeout. Rue pitched 5 2/3 in the no decision role, allowing five hits and three earned runs while tallying eight strikeouts. After giving up a single in the second, Rue fanned the next three batters to strike out eight of the first 16 batter he faced before getting into trouble in the sixth.
Casey Burton (Redding, Calif.) took the loss for Oregon Tech, pitching 6 2/3 and allowing eight hits and four earned runs while striking out six CU batters.
The Cavs started the second game just as the first by posting two runs in the initial frame. Reyes led off the game with a single and followed the hit with a swipe of second base. Lanier pushed Reyes to third with a successful sacrifice and Ryan Sussenguth (Gresham, Ore./Sam Barlow H.S.) completed Reyes’ trip around the bases with an RBI single. After a stolen base, Sussenguth would be sent home by a Brad Himes (Chatsworth, Calif./Bishop Alemeny H.S.) single for the Cavs second run.
OIT would once again take a lead with a three-run inning, this time in the fifth, as the Owls collected six hits while batting eight in the stanza. Oregon Tech would get an insurance run in the seventh for the 4-2 lead.
The run would prove the difference maker as Concordia turned it back into a one-run margin with a Strachan single with the bases loaded to send Derek Kirkland (Flagstaff, Arz./Cococino H.S.) across the plate in the eighth, but the inning would end on the play as OIT left fielder Quinn Hummel (Klamath Falls, Ore./Mazama H.S.) fired to the plate to axe the tying run.
The Cavs would get runners on first and second in the ninth to challenge again but OIT reliever Kevin Huntley (Klamath Falls, Ore./Klamath Union H.S.) ended the game with a strikeout against CU’s Himes to earn the save. Josh Strom (Canby, Ore./Canby H.S.) got the win for the Owls with 7 1/3 of work on the mound, giving up seven hits and three earned runs.
Concordia’s Ross Conway (Seattle, Wash./Garfield H.S.) was struck with the loss with six hits and three earned runs in 4 2/3.
The Cavs return to action on May 2 when it travels to Corban College for the final series of the regular season.