Concordia improves to a 8-6 record with 2-1, 13-3 wins
The Concordia Stingers baseball team earned two wins in a doubleheader against the Carleton Ravens on Sept. 24. They have now won four consecutive games and hold a 8-6 record.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Stingers and Ravens battled through sun glare and temperatures that reached 31C. The Stingers defeated the Ravens 2-1 on a walk-off in the seventh and final inning when second baseman Michael Makarios scored off an error.
Starting pitcher Shane Mullen played six innings, allowing five walks, two hits and only one run. Pitcher Justin Benoit relieved him at the top of the seventh and collected the win.
At the plate, the Stingers’ bats were unusually quiet. Catcher Dario Vincelli was responsible for the only run batted in (RBI), which came on a fielder’s choice in the second inning. In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the game tied and runners on first and second, outfielder Chandler Philippas struck out on a ball in the dirt. The catcher’s throw to first was over the first baseman’s head, though, and into right field, allowing Makarios to score from second base. This secured the 2-1 win for the Stingers.
The score was not as close in the second game as it was in the first game. The Stingers’ bats exploded for a 13-3 win. The 10-run mercy rule was called after the fifth inning. Several Stingers had great games offensively, including first baseman Stefan Brady with three hits and two runs scored.
The Stingers scored three runs in the first inning, five in the third inning, one run in the fourth inning and another four in the fifth.
Sam Blondeau pitched in the second game, going four innings and allowing three runs on four hits, with a walk and two strikeouts. Pitcher Jackson Morgan replaced him in the top of the fifth inning, but by then the game was all but over.
Brady said playing in hot conditions like they did was a mental challenge. “[The first game] was a hard battle the whole way,” he said.
Concerning the second game, Brady commented on how Concordia wore down the Ravens.
“[The Ravens] were a little bit taken out of it,” he said. “We just had to wake up the bats and put the pressure on them.”
Errors were a major focal point of both games, and with serious sun glare, it becomes very hard to track the ball. However, Philippas said defence is always a priority for the team.
“Defence makes the team. Offence can always bounce back in the end, [but] defence runs the game,” the first-year player said.
Manager Howie Schwartz was happy with the way his team played, especially in the second game.
“Once we got three runs early, they sort of packed it in,” Schwartz said. “They were counting on [their] pitcher to shut us down.”
With the Stingers in a position to make the playoffs, the focus now turns to the next two games against the McGill Redmen. Schwartz said he is sure the team will be ready to go.
“They want to beat us, we want to beat them,” he said. “We’re just going to go out there and play hard, aggressive ball and make it close.”
The Stingers finish the 2017 regular season with games against McGill on Sept. 27 and 28.
Main photo by Ben Fraser.
