Rolling with the momentum in breaking up their quick four game non-conference stretch, the Concordia High School baseball team defeated Minneapolis.
In game one, the Panthers won 10-0.
The Panther defense came out hot, with a pair of opening strikeouts and a groundout ending the top of the first quickly, but Minneapolis returned the favor with two flyouts and a groundout. The Lions picked up a pair of walks and got them into scoring position, but three strikeouts left them stranded. Concordia got on the board in the bottom of the second. After Drake Blochlinger got on base on an error, a pair of singles by Chane Parker and Koehn Williams got the Panthers on the board, with an error and a passed ball scoring Parker and Williams to go up 3-0.
Minneapolis would pick up two more walks in the third, but two strikeouts and a flyout would give way to a two-run Panther inning, with Brandon Vignery scoring on an Ayden Krier single, with Krier scoring on an error after a pair of steals to make it a 5-0 lead. The Lions picked up their first (and only) hit of the game in the top of the fourth after a dropped strike three to give them a pair of baserunners, but two quick outs by Maxson Frey on the mound left them stranded.
Concordia closed the game in the bottom of the fourth, with Parker getting on base with a single, Williams hitting a double, a Kale Schroeder triple scoring both, a Rush LeDuc double scoring Schroeder, and a Vignery single scoring LeDuc. Boone Richard got on base after being hit and scored on another Jackson single, to put the Panthers up 10-0. A Lions flyout, lineout and strikeout later, and the Panthers took game one.
Parker went 3-3 from the plate; Williams was 2-2 with a double; LeDuc and Schroeder were 1-2. Parker Jackson earned the win on the mound with seven strikeouts, four walks, and no hits given up in three innings pitched.
In game two, the Panthers won 12-1.
Like game one, the Panther defense was strong, handing the Lions a three-up-three-down top of the first inning. Concordia’s offense came out swinging. Vignery and Richard got one base on singles, scoring on good baserunning, with Jackson scoring after hitting a triple to go up 3-0.
Minneapolis got a lead-off walk, and a pair of groundouts put the runner on third, with a passed ball giving the Lions their only score of the doubleheader to make it 3-1. Concordia responded with a solo run of their own, with Richard getting hit by a pitch before scoring on a Blochlinger double to make it 4-1.
After a quick fourth inning, the Panthers blew the game open in the fifth, with Vignery, Richard, Krier, Jackson, and Blochlinger all scoring, with LeDuc getting walked and Frey hitting a double to put the Panthers up 10-1.
The Lions picked up a walk and a single in the sixth, but the Panthers responded in the sixth with Richard and Krier scoring on Minneapolis errors to put the Panthers up 12-1, ending the game early by mercy rule.
Richard was 2-3 from the plate with a triple, Blochlinger was 2-4 with a double, and Vignery was 2-4 with a double. Vignery earned the win on the mound with one strikeout, one walk, and one hit and run given up in three innings pitched.
