Orlick On Track in Split With Sunbirds
Game One Game Two
(3/22/08 - Baseball) IRVINE - Junior RHP Dan Orlick won his third-straight start in a 7-2 win to help host Concordia to a doubleheader split with #15-ranked Fresno Pacific after losing the opener, 8-5, Saturday afternoon in Golden State Athletic Conference play.
Orlick (3-3) allowed two unearned runs on six hits over seven innings for his second-consecutive complete game. After picking up the loss in each of his first three appearances, Orlick has now evened his record as he has yielded just two earned runs over the last 20 innings to put his ERA at 3.50.
Fresno Pacific (19-7, 11-5 GSAC) pushed across the first of their two unearned runs in the 4th inning of game two, but the Eagles responded with three runs of their own to grab a lead they would never relinquish.
Two errors and a stolen base by Matt Ross gave the Eagles two runners in scoring position with none out. Scooter Hendrickson delivered a sacrifice fly to plate Cody Kissell, then Dante Beltramo singled in the go-ahead run. After a passed ball, Beltramo scurried home thanks to another sacrifice fly, this time off the bat of Nathan Dean.
The Eagles put the game away in the 5th as they pushed four more runs across. Mike Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, then Gregg Davidson singled. Two batter later, Kissell delivered the big blow with a two-RBI triple that cleared the bases. Ross drew a walk, then Hendrickson tallied a run-scoring single. Another passed ball allowed Ross to scamper home to complete the damage.
Concordia fell behind early on in the opening game, but battled back to tie things up to let staff ace Enrique Lechuga off the hook. Trailing 5-2 in the 7th inning, Jimmy Mittleberger smacked a two-run home run to trim two runs off the deficit before Nick Fuentes delivered a game-tying single after Mike Gonzalez had followed the home run with a single and moved to second on a groundout.
The Eagles carried the momentum with them into the 8th inning as Justin Baeza drew a leadoff walk and was moved to second after a sacrifice bunt by Aric Weinberg. However, a pair of infield pop-ups ended the threat, turning things over to the Sunbirds.
The visitors took advantage of the opening and pushed three runs across in the 9th off Cameron Bayne (0-1) to capture the first game. Justin Keeney capped a 4-for-5 game with a leadoff single, then took second after an error allowed Case Rigby to reach base. Jacob Burns tallied what held up as the game-winning RBI with a single before Joey Norwood gave the Sunbirds some insurance with a triple that plated two more runs.
Daniel Brodie (1-1) picked up the win in the opener, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings of relief with a walk and two strikeouts. Norwood was 2-for-4 in game one with a pair of RBI while Josh Jackson finished 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Nick Fuentes led the charge in game one for the Eagles, finishing 3-for-5 with two RBI while Gonzalez scored twice.
Hendrickson had a pair of hits and drove in two in the nightcap for the Eagles while Kissell also scored twice and knocked in a pair. Jacob Burns (2-1) took the loss for the Sunbirds, allowing six runs (three earned) on five hits over 4.1 innings. Jackson was 2-for-4 with a RBI in the second game in the loss.
Concordia (10-10, 8-9 GSAC) is back on the road this Tuesday, March 25 for a non-conference tilt against Cal State Los Angeles with the first pitch scheduled for 5:00 p.m.