Bondo, Eagles Shut Down Sea Lions, 4-2

Box Score 

(4/2/08 - Baseball) SAN DIEGO - Senior RHP Derek Bondo tossed eight strong innings for his second-straight victory as Concordia doubled up on host Point Loma Nazarene, 4-2, Wednesday afternoon in Golden State Athletic Conference play.

Bondo (2-3) allowed two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out two, working in an almost even mix of fly balls and groundouts. He was also assisted by a defense that did not make an error while watching the Sea Lions make four on the day.

The Eagles gave Bondo an early 1-0 lead after Matt Ross roped a two-out, RBI-double in the 1st inning. After Gregg Davidson was caught stealing following a lead-off single, Cody Kissell reached on an error and raced around on the double into the left-center gap.

In an otherwise stellar outing, Bondo made just one mistake on the day. Following a leadoff single in the 3rd inning by Andy Reilly and sacrifice bunt by Mike Reynolds, Kurt Steinhauer launched his fifth home run of the season to give the Sea Lions a 2-1 lead.

The Concordia offense quickly responded and got the lead back for their starting pitcher in the 4th inning. Aric Weinberg had the first of his two hits on the day to start off the inning, then took second after a groundout. Nathan Dean and Mike Gonzalez followed with back-to-back singles, the second bringing Weinberg around with the tying run.

Chase Moltz kept the inning going by reaching on a fielder's choice that loaded the bases. Davidson was up next and hit a fly ball down the right field line. Though it was caught in foul territory for the second out, Dean tagged up and scored what proved to be the winning run.

The Eagles added an insurance run in the 5th inning, this time with Kissell instigating the rally again with a single. Following a passed ball and a walk to Ross, Weinberg laid down a sacrifice bunt to push both runners into scoring position. Scooter Hendrickson drew a walk to load the bases before a fielder's choice allowed Kissell to score while Dean avoided a double play to end the threat.

Meanwhile, Bondo settled into an impressive groove and cruised through to the 8th inning. Other than a two-out single by Kaohi Downing in the 4th inning, Bondo retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced including 10-straight before giving the ball over to Gonzalez. The junior lefty set down the Sea Lions in order in the 9th with three fly balls to left field for his third save of the season.

Dean finished the game 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored while Weinberg was 2-for-4 with a double and run scored. Kissell also had a hit and scored twice.

Chris Honer (5-4) took the loss for Point Loma Nazarene (17-16, 9-12 GSAC), allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits in 4.2 innings while walking three and striking out two. Reilly had two of the five hits for the Sea Lions and scored a run.

Concordia (14-11, 12-9 GSAC) looks to extend its four-game winning streak on Thursday, April 3 as they host the Sea Lions at 3:00 p.m.