CU's Cole Shidaki tied the game against CWU at 6-6 in the seventh inning with a 2-run double.
Walk-Off Win in the 11th Propels Cavs to Saturday Split
BOX SCORES : Concordia vs. Central Washington I Concordia vs. Lewis-Clark State
LEWISTON, Idaho—Using late-inning heroics against Central Washington, Concordia managed a Saturday split with a 7-6 win against the Wildcats before falling to the host Warriors of Lewis-Clark State 13-2 in the afternoon session.
With the results, Concordia moved to 3-6 on the season. The Cavaliers will wrap-up the four-game series at Harris Field on Sunday. Concordia’s start time and opponent will be determined following the evening contest between College of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State.
Concordia vs. Central Washington Recap
For the second straight week, Concordia mounted a multi-run rally to pull off a win. A week after scoring six in the bottom of the eighth to tag British Columbia with a 7-5 loss, the Cavaliers used a 4-run seventh to force extra innings en route to a 7-6 win against Central Washington on Saturday morning.
With the extended life, CU second baseman Christian Lichtenthaler took advantage of a leadoff walk in the bottom of the 11th with a game-winning RBI double to left to score Julian Burgess.
Concordia actually had the early lead of the game with two runs scored in the bottom of the first. Sheldon Austria initiated the attack with a one-out walk against CWU starter Stuart Fewel. Now with Austria on second following a stolen base, Jordan Keeker delivered a double down the left-field line to open the game’s scoring.
A grounder to shortstop moved Keeker to third while C.J. Watson tallied an RBI of his own by punching a single to left.
Central Washington responded by plating runners in the next two frames, including posting a 3-spot in the top of the third. Kathman created the bulk of the offense with a 2-run single to left to score Kyle Sani and Kasey Bielec.
Single runs in the fifth and the sixth innings pushed the Wildcat lead to 6-2, before Concordia erupted for four runs in the seventh.
After Fewel sent the Cavs down in order, Blake Drake led the inning off with a bunt single. Austria reached on an error at second and Keeker belted his second hit of the day with a single to left to load the bases.
Still without an out recorded, CWU turned to reliever Willie Davies in the fateful seventh where Jared Young and Burgess hit back-to-back singles to pull CU within 6-4. From there, Cole Shidaki, facing a newcomer to the mound in Ethan Sterkel, delivered the most important hit of the day with a 2-run double to right to knot the game up at 6-6.
Sterkel prevented further damage by inducing a double-play liner to left where Burgess was picked off at third.
Blake Evetts, who came on in the top of the eighth after the Cavs tied the game, went on to pick up his first win of the season by holding the Wildcats to three hits over the final four innings. Evetts did not allow a runner past first base in the outing.
Concordia outhit CWU 15 to 12 but the Cavs were charged with five fielding errors which resulted in two of the six runs scored on McGhee’s watch to be declared unearned.
Concordia vs. Lewis-Clark State Recap
Lewis-Clark State improved to 3-0 against Concordia this season with a 13-2 win against the Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon.
The Cavaliers were charged with seven fielding errors which led to six unearned runs to help LCSC’s cause. Lewis-Clark State scored single runs in both the first and second innings before combining for 10 runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
Pitching the first four innings, Carsen Nylund started on the mound for the Warriors. Nylund allowed two runs on four hits before being replaced by David Murillo. Murillo, meanwhile, allowed just a single hit while pitching the fifth through the eighth inning to collect the win.
Concordia finished with five hits including a double by Sheldon Austria as the lone non-single.