HILLSBORO, Kan. – The Concordia baseball team faced 13th-ranked Tabor College on Tuesday afternoon. The Blue Jays swept the Bulldogs taking the first game 15-3 and the second 4-2. Junior Tyler Nelson recorded his first home run of the season in the first tilt of the day.
The Bulldogs move to 12-12 on the season while the Blue Jays are now 17-8.
Head coach Ryan Dupic said, “The first game, they (Tabor) got us pretty good. They swung the bats really well and we didn’t pitch well enough to get the win. The second game was definitely more competitive and was better played. We pitched and defended better to put ourselves in a position to win, but Tabor just executed better than we did.”
The first game was highlighted for the Bulldogs by a solo home run from Tyler Nelson in the sixth inning. Nelson also scored the first run of the tilt off an RBI from Logan Ryan. Also scoring in the game was Jacob Adams on a passed ball. Nelson, Kaleb Geiger and Christian Meza all registered two hits in the contest.
Neil Ryan started on the mound and pitched three innings. Schafer Thompson pitched 1.1 innings and Todd Oberthien finished the game. Each of the last two hurlers recorded two strikeouts.
Both of Concordia’s runs came in the third inning. Josh Mondt led off the frame with a single up the middle. Jon May was up next and reached base on a Tabor error. Mondt and May advanced a base on a wild pitch and then scored on a hit from Meza.
Casey Hall was the starting pitcher for the Bulldogs. Hall was on the mound for two innings and allowed just two hits and no walks. Nic Seaman pitched 1.2 innings and was replaced by Josh Prater who pitched 1.1 innings. Josue Melchor finished out the game and did not give up a hit in one inning.
As a team over the two games, the Bulldogs recorded 12 hits and were walked three times. Defensively, Geiger recorded a total of 13 putouts and one assist. The Concordia pitching crew walked just three Blue Jays over the course of the two contests.
The Concordia baseball team will have its home opener this Saturday. The Bulldogs are set to host Grace University for a double header beginning at 1 p.m. at the Plum Creek Ballpark.