Mitch Ludtke limited Pacific to one hit in six innings
Concordia Defeats Pacific 8-5
BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. – Mitch Ludtke continued Concordia’s string of strong pitching performances and three Cavaliers finished with multiple hits as CU defeated Pacific 8-5 at Joe Etzel Field Wednesday afternoon.
The win, Concordia’s third in a row, improves the Cavaliers’ record to 13-29 this season. Pacific falls to 21-13-2.
Ludtke threw six innings, limiting the Boxers to one run on one hit with four strikeouts while only throwing 80 pitches. Jon Collier and Shayne Nakata pitched in relief for CU, with Larsen Kohler picking up a one-out save. Jason Sawyer took the loss for Pacific, yielding two runs on three hits in 2.1 innings after taking over for starter Dustin Christensen in the second inning.
Concordia scored its first run in the bottom of the second inning, as Jared Young doubled to right field and scored on Matt Zappoli’s single through the left side. Pacific tied it up with a run in the top of the fourth. Kevin Schwartz led off with an infield single and Nate Rasmussen walked to put runners at first and second. A double steal put two in scoring position, with Mike Nagamine’s groundout to second bringing in a run to make it 1-1.
The Cavaliers took control with a total of seven runs in the middle innings. Tommy Whalen walked to lead off the bottom of the fourth, and Mike Cero singled through the left side. Tim Reavis doubled to left center to give CU the 2-1 lead, and Zappoli followed with a sacrifice fly to left to make it 3-1.
Odie Hollingshed was hit by a pitch to open the bottom of the fifth and advanced to second on a passed ball. He reached third on a fly ball to left field and scored on Sean Myrom’s sacrifice fly to left, giving CU a 4-1 lead.
Five hits in the sixth inning gave Concordia four more runs as the Cavaliers opened an 8-1 advantage. Cero led off with a double and scored on Young’s single up the middle. Reavis doubled down the left field line, and Danny Brown singled to left to bring home two more runs after Zappoli was hit by a pitch. Cameron Baker singled to right to load the bases, and Curt Cosby drove home CU’s eighth run with a sacrifice fly to right.
Pacific made it interesting late, as the Boxers slowly fought their way back into the game. In the seventh, Michael Arakaki singled and scored on Travis Koon’s double to left field to make it 8-2. The Boxers added two more in the top of the eighth. Sam Kaplan walked and advanced to third on Nate Rasmussen’s double down the left field line. Mike Nagamine’s single through the left side made it 8-3, and Rasmussen scored on a passed ball to pull Pacific to within four.
After two quick outs to start the ninth, Jared Van Hoon doubled down the left field line and scored on Kaplan’s single to left. With a runner at first and a three-run lead, Kohler picked up the final out of the game to earn the save.
Reavis led CU with three hits, all doubles, in the victory. Young and Cero each finished with a pair of hits, and Zappoli and Brown each tallied two RBIs. No Pacific player finished with more than one hit, but Nagamine led the team with two RBIs, while Kaplan finished with a pair of runs scored.
Concordia returns to action on April 29, when the Cavs open a four-game series against Corban with a doubleheader at Joe Etzel Field, with the first game scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.