STERLING, Kan. – The Concordia University baseball team fell to the 20th-ranked Sterling College Warriors on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs were outscored 9-1 in the first game and 6-4 in the second.
The Bulldogs now own a 2-6 record on the year while the Warriors move to 10-0.
Head coach Ryan Dupic said, “In the first game they got out to a quick start and we stayed with them after that, the first inning just set us behind. The second game was a good ballgame. We fought back and forth and we got the lead, then they got the lead back. We got a chance to win at the end but just didn’t execute.”
During the first contest of the day, the Bulldogs were outscored, 9-1. Scoring the lone run for the Bulldogs was Taylor Dudley. Dudley got on base with a single to left and worked his way around the diamond by stealing second. Alex Cargin came up to the plate and recorded an infield single. Dudley then scored on the play from second.
On the mound to start the tilt was Neil Ryan who pitched five innings. Ryan struck out two batters. Taking over after the five frames was Cole Thomas.
The Warriors took the second game 6-4. The Bulldogs scored all four runs in the fifth inning. The first Bulldog to cross the plate was Cargin who was batted in by Taylor Bigandt. Alex Allstott and Ryan Fesmire scored on a single from Dudley. The four runs gave Concordia a 4-3 lead over the Warriors going into the bottom of the fifth inning. Sterling answered back with three more tallies to set the final score.
Taylor Bickel was the starting pitcher for the second game. He threw three innings and struck out two batters. Josue Melchor also struck out two batters in one inning.
“It was a pretty good ballgame they just played a little bit better than we did. It was a weekend where hopefully they guys learned a lot to get ready for next week,” Dupic said.
Next weekend the Bulldogs will return to action as they travel to Ottawa University. On Saturday, Feb. 27 Concordia and Ottawa will begin a double header at 1 p.m. Then on Sunday, the third and fourth games of the series will begin at Noon.