CU senior Carl Becket hit a pair of extra-base hit son Monday against PLU.
Cavs Split on Opening Day
BOX SCORE - Game 1 I Game 2
PARKLAND, Wash.—Opening its 2013 baseball season on the road against Pacific Lutheran University, Concordia University rebounded with a 4-1 win in the nightcap after being shutout 4-0 in the opening game of a doubleheader played at PLU Field on Monday.
The Cavaliers will return to action with four games in three days at NAIA West Tournament held at Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho, on Feb. 8-10.
Game 1 Recap
Held to just two hits by a trio of PLU pitchers, Concordia failed to manage a run in its season opener, falling 4-0 on the road.
The Lutes plated a pair of runners in the bottom of the first inning as singles by Dominick Courcey and Chris Bishop led to the early lead.
Looking to cut into the early deficit, Concordia’s Carl Beckert started the second inning with a double down the right line. After a pair of outs, Jared Young drew a walk to give CU the tying run on base, but PLU starter Max Beatty got out of the jam with a grounder to second ending the frame.
The Cavs placed another runner in scoring position in the third as Jimmy Sanchez placed down a successful bunt for a single and as immediately moved to second on a sacrifice by Sheldon Austria.
From there, PLU reliever Trevor Lubking took a cue from Beatty by escaping a threat of his own via a line drive to the shortstop which double upped Sanchez at second.
Those two outs would later combine to give Lubking with 13 straight outs as the sophomore sent the Cavs down in order in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings.
The Cavaliers finally broke the string with Christian Lichtenthaler reaching first on an error back on the mound. Blake Drake reached in the ninth inning on an error at shortstop and advanced a base with the team’s first stolen base of the season, but the Lutes got the final three outs off the arm of Bishop, who started the game in left field before closing out the ninth.
Game 2 Recap
After collecting Concordia’s first hit of the season in the opener, Carl Beckert went one further in the second contest with a solo home run to right field in the second inning to snare the team’s first run scored and RBI.
An inning later, Jordan Keeker doubled the Cavalier lead with an RBI single through the middle which allowed Ben Talbot to rumble home from second. Talbot reached after being hit by a pitch and alertly moved to second on a wild pitch tossed by PLU starter Collin Nilson.
With the two early runs, CU pitchers Jon Yearout, Oliver Wange, Harrison McGhee and Eddie Crowe combined on the four-hit shutout.
Yearout was present for the first seven outs, four of which were strikeouts, before turning the ball over to Wange with one out and the bases loaded in the third. Wange, who tossed just two pitches in the outing, forced a double play to short to preserve the shutout.
McGhee picked up the win after three innings of work in which he allowed two hits. Crowe earned the save with a perfect seventh inning.
Concordia added a run on an RBO double from Jordan Keeker in the fifth, plating Sheldon Austria, and an RBI single from Ryne Briley in the sixth to score Cole Shidaki.
Concordia outhit the Lutes 7 to 4 with Drake finishing 2 of 4 at the plate.
The Lutes loaded the bases in the first but Yearout forced an inning-ending grounder to third off the bat of third baseman Andrew Oord. The Cavaliers had only three shutouts in 53 games in all of its 2012 season.