Austin, Texas - A back-and-forth contest went Concordia's way as they pulled out a 4-3 win over the Eagles in game one on Thursday night.
The Eagles struck first in the opening inning.
Taber Childs reached and later scored on a sacrifice fly from
Langdon Townsend to give the Eagles an early 1-0 advantage. Concordia answered immediately, however, as Kalen Clark launched a solo home run to left field to even the score.
The Eagles regained control in the third inning behind timely hitting.
Connor Reed continued his strong day at the plate with one of his three hits, eventually coming around to score on an RBI single from
Jacob Knox to put Ozarks back in front, 2-1.
That lead proved short-lived. Concordia capitalized in the bottom half of the inning, using patience and situational execution to plate two runs. A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch tied the game before a sacrifice fly pushed the Tornados ahead 3-2.
With Concordia leading 3-2, the Tornadoes added what would be the decisive run in the fourth inning on an RBI single.
After a lightning delay halted play for nearly two hours, the Eagles came out with energy in the fifth inning.
Gabriel Ellison reached base and moved into scoring position before Townsend delivered again, this time with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Despite multiple opportunities down the stretch, the Eagles were unable to find the equalizer. The Eagles finished with eight hits but stranded eight runners on base.
Connor Reed led the offensive effort, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Townsend drove in two runs, while Knox added an RBI.
Game Two
A game that started evenly quickly swung out of reach as Concordia used a massive third inning to power past the Eagles, 13–3, in game two.
The Eagles grabbed an early lead in the first inning when
Langdon Townsend drove in
Gabriel Ellison with an RBI single to center. Concordia answered in the bottom half, tying the game at 1-1 on an RBI single.
The game turned decisively in the third inning. Concordia erupted for eight runs, taking advantage of walks, hit batters, and timely hits, including a grand slam to left field to break the game open.
The Eagles tried to chip away in the fifth inning.
Connor Reed brought home a run with a sacrifice fly, and another run scored on a Concordia error to make it 9-3. However, any momentum was quickly halted in the bottom half of the inning.
Concordia answered with four more runs in the fifth, extending the lead to 13-3.
Game three will be Friday at 1:00 p.m.
