Cardinals Too Much For Cougars, Rain Ends Game 2 Early

(Ann Arbor, MI) -- The Cleary Cougars baseball team traveled south to Ann Arbor, Michigan today to take on the deafening WHAC Baseball Champion Concordia University Cardinals. The Cougars would suffer two losses on the day with Game 2 ending after the 5th inning because of the rain. 

In Game 1: The Cardinals would strike early, scoring 4 unearned runs off of 2 errors by the Cougars in the bottom of the 1st inning giving them a 4-0 lead. The Cougars would find hope in the top of the 3rd inning when Ben Cerven hit a single to left field, scoring Gavin Kemainen and Marcel Garcia to cut the Cardinal lead in half, 4-2. In the bottom half of the 3rd inning, the Cardinals would manage to hit a 2 RBI double in the inning, and a throwing error would allow 2 more runs to score. They would take advantage of another Cougar error in the 4th inning to score another run giving them a 9-2 lead. The Cougars would find some fight in the top of the 7th when Andrew Piloske came into the game as a pinch hitter and got an RBI single. Ben Cerven would then reach base on a fielder's choice which scored Caleb Buda from third base on the play. This wouldn't be enough for the Cougars as they would go down swinging for the final out leaving Concordia with a 9-4 win. 

Nate Raniszewski (2-2) made the start for the Cougars and would ultimately suffer the loss on the mound. He would allow 8 runs (2 earned) over 3.0 innings pitched. Kristian Scalf made his season debut on the mound in this game, allowing 1 run in 1.1 innings pitched. 

In Game 2: Concordia's bats would once again catch on fire early on. In the 1st inning, a double would score 2 runs giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. The Cougars would claw back in the top of the 2nd when Caleb Buda reached on a fielder's choice. During the play, an error by the Cardinals shortstop would allow Albert Gonzalez to score. The Cardinals would immediately strike back scoring 4 runs in the bottom half of the 2nd inning, and then scoring 6 more runs in the bottom of the 3rd giving them a 12-1 lead. In the 5th inning, Brice Wesley would draw a walk with 2 outs allowing Ben Cerven to drive him in with his 4th triple of the season. Rain would play a factor in this one as in the bottom half of the 5th inning, the umpires decided to end the game early giving the Cougars a 12-2 loss. 

Marty McDonald (0-4) would suffer the loss on the mound after allowing 2 runs in 0.1 innings pitched. Four other Cougars would pitch in this game as well. 

The Cougars drop to 5-14 overall and 3-5 in WHAC conference play this year. The Cougars currently sit in 9th place in the conference. They look to take the field this Friday in Fort Worth, Indiana as they take on the Indiana Tech Warriors in a WHAC matchup. First pitch is set for 1:00 PM.