(Ann Arbor, MI) – Concordia baseball hosted Lourdes for a WHAC doubleheader on Sunday afternoon as the team celebrated Senior Day. The program honored their 7 senior team members between games: Adam Willinger (SR/Flat Rock, MI), Blaine Milheim (SR/Eaton Rapids, MI), Ethan Vosburg (SR/Climax, MI), Gregory Barbuto (SR/Oakville, ON), Jacob Clark (SR/Pinckney, MI), Jimmy McKane (JR/Saint Johns, MI) and Justin Mercer (SR/Howell, MI). Lourdes earned a 6-0 win in game 1, but the Cardinals sent their seniors out victorious with a dominant 16-2 victory in game 2.
Game 1 – Lourdes 6, CUAA 0
Senior pitcher Jacob Clark received the start in game 1 for Concordia, striking out 6 batters in 4 innings of work. Senior Blaine Milheim hit a 2-out double in the bottom of the 1st and advanced to third base on a passed ball, but the team was not able to score the runner.
The game remained scoreless until Lourdes plated 2 runs in the 3rd inning. 2 more runs by the Grey Wolves in the 4th led to a 4-0 deficit for the Cardinals.
Jacob Henry (FR/Bloomfield Hills, MI) came on the mound in the 5th to pitch for Concordia. Lourdes added another run in the top of the 6th to take a 5-0 lead. Preston Sherman (JR/Homer, MI) hit a lead-off single in the bottom of the 6th and pinch runner Matthew Botti (JR/Decatur, MI) eventually reached third base, but Lourdes maintained their shutout.
The Grey Wolves added one more run in the 7th inning. Senior pitchers Adam Willinger and Gregory Barbuto combined to pitch the last 2 innings for the Cardinals, but Lourdes claimed a 6-0 win in game 1.
Game 2 – CUAA 16, Lourdes 2 (7 innings)
Grant Steinborn (JR/Flushing, MI) started game 2 on the mound for Concordia. The Cardinals struck early with 2 runs in the 1st. Blaine Milheim hit an RBI single scoring pinch runner Jake Moyer (FR/Hartland, Mi) and Grant Steinborn hit a sacrifice fly to score Chris Lowe (JR/DeWitt, MI).
Concordia added 4 more runs in the bottom of the 2nd. Maxwell Hecht (FR/Holland, MI) and Ethan Vosburg both reached home on throwing errors by Lourdes. Chris Lowe used a 2-RBI single to score Jake Moyer and Matthew Botti and CUAA held a 6-0 lead after the 2nd.
An RBI double in the 3rd from senior catcher Justin Mercer drove in fellow senior Ethan Vosburg to extend the Concordia lead. Lourdes broke the shutout with a run in the top of the 4th, but Blaine Milheim used a great individual effort to answer in the bottom half of the inning. Milheim hit a single, stole second and third base on back-to-back pitches, and reached home on a wild pitch.
The Cardinals broke the game open with 8 runs in the 5th. Maxwell Hecht started things off by scoring on a wild pitch. Chris Lowe hit an RBI single to drive in Ethan Vosburg, and a bases-loaded single from Grant Steinborn scored Blaine Milheim, Chris Lowe and Jake Moyer. Pinch runner Lucas McNinch (SO/Belding, MI) reached home on an error, and a 2-RBI double from Matthew Botti drove in Maxwell Hecht and Vann Acker (JR/Eaton Rapids, MI). CUAA led 16-1 after the 5th.
Senior Gregory Barbuto came in to pitch in the top of the 6th, mowing down all three batters he faced. With 2 outs in the 6th, the Cardinals took another moment to celebrate several seniors as Blaine Milheim, Ethan Vosburg and Justin Mercer subbed out of the lineup and received a round of applause.
Senior pitchers Jimmy McKane and Gregory Barbuto received their first career at-bats in the bottom of the 6th. McKane hit a hard shot and was narrowly denied a base hit by a diving catch from Lourdes' second baseman. Barbuto crushed a deep fly ball to left field, but Lourdes' left fielder was able to make the catch.
Elijah Abenth (SO/Saginaw, MI) came on to pitch in the top of the 7th. While Lourdes did score a run, Abenth recorded 2 strikeouts and finished off the game securing a 16-2 CUAA victory.
Concordia improves to 34-16 overall and 14-8 in the WHAC after the day. The Cardinals will play one more non-conference game before the WHAC tournament when the team travels to Spring Arbor on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 4pm. The Cardinals received the 4th seed in the WHAC tournament and will travel to Indiana Tech on Thursday, May 2nd. The Cardinals will face #5 University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH). Additional information regarding the WHAC tournament can be found here.
