So Close To A Sweep On Day 2 In Florida

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (3/01/26)---Concordia was two outs away from sweeping its first doubleheader of the season in Florida. The Cobbers led Marian (Wis.) 5-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 1 but then gave up two runs to the Sabres and lost 6-5 in extra innings. CC responded by a 6-3 win the second game to come away with the split.

Concordia is now 2-1 in its first three games of the annual spring training trip to Florida.

The Cobbers outhit Marian 18-9 in the two games. CC had six extra-base hits in the series with junior Tanner Nowacki coming through with the first home run of the year for Concordia. He clouted a 3-run long ball in the second inning of the second game to give CC the momentum in the win.

Junior lefthanded pitcher Grant Anderson earned the win in Game 2 as he went the first 5.1 innings and didn't allow a run.

Game 1
The opener was a back-and-forth affair with the Cobbers grabbing leads of 1-0, 2-1, 4-3 and 5-3 only to have Marian respond with run-scoring of their own to take leads of 3-2 and finally 6-5.

Luke Van Erp and Talan Plante drove in the first two runs of the game for Concordia. After the Sabres grabbed a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth, Ben Shumansky responded with a 2-run double in the top of the seventh and then scored on a wild pitch to give CC the 5-3 lead. Marian countered with a game-saving, 2-run bottom of the frame and won the opener on a single run in the eighth.

The Cobbers outhit Marian 12-5 in Game 1. Brayden Wolfgram, who earned the win on the mound in the first game of the year on Saturday, went 4-for-4 with a double and scored a run. Plante and Mason Henry had the other multiple-hit games for the Cobbers. Plante went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Henry was 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Concordia used six pitchers in the first game. Dylan Inniger got the start and went 5.0 frames. He only allowed two hits and one unearned run. He also struck out eight and only walked two as he showed off early-season command and speed.

Carter Huotari, J Riley Ohm, Cullen Norland, Clayton Erickson and Vann Olson all followed Inniger with Erickson coming away wih the only no-run outing of the group. He went 0.2 innings and didn't allow a hit.

Game 2
Concordia never trailed in the second game as they used a 3-run second to get on top and then the pitching of Anderson to stay on to take the 6-3 decision.

Nowacki proved the spark that the Cobbers needed when he connected on a 3-run laser shot to right field in the second inning. The long ball was the second of Nowacki's career. He also went yard in the final game of last year and has now posted long balls in back-to-back games.

Concordia added two more runs in the fifth frame. Henry posted an RBI single to left field and then Jake Gruebele scored on a double-play ball later in the inning.

Nowacki capped the scoring in the win when he doubled home Jack Primus from first after Primus walked to start the bottom of the sixth.

The Sabres made it interesting in the top of the seventh when they broke up the shutout and connected a 2-out, 3-run double

Nowacki was the only CC player with more than one hit in the game. He went 2-for-4 with four RBI.

Anderson went 5.1 innings, didn't all o run and struck out three.

The Cobbers will play a single game against St. Vincent on Monday, Mar. 2 at 10 a.m. in Davenport before having an off day on Tuesday.