GAME ONE BOX SCORE

GAME TWO BOX SCORE

Alpine, Texas – Freshman first baseman Kyle Rodriguez went 4-for-4 in the opener and drove in a run in the nightcap to lead the #12/#21 Concordia University Texas baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of Sul Ross State on Saturday, March 24 at Kokernot Field. By recording three victories in two days, the Tornados moved into a tie for first place in the American Southwest Conference West Division standings.

In the opener, Kyle Rodriguez got Concordia on the board with an RBI single in the top of the first and gave the Tornados a 3-1 lead with a two-run single in the top of the third. After the Lobos tied the game at three, Rodriguez put the Tornados ahead again by tripling to right to score Matt McManemin in the top of the fifth. The freshman then came home on a balk to make it 5-3.

Sul Ross State (6-21, ASC 2-7) got one back in the bottom of the same frame when Brian Mata singled in Zach Hopson, but the hosts would not be able to come another closer. The Tornados added a run in the sixth and seventh innings, which was capped by another Rodriguez RBI single.

Jacob Spelbring picked up the victory for Concordia by throwing two scoreless innings of relief. He improved to 4-0 by allowing three hits and recording three strikeouts. Ryan Ullmann picked up his sixth save after recording the last two outs by fanning Lobo hitters. Sul Ross State's Ray Gutierrez suffered the loss and fell to 0-2. He allowed four runs, which were all earned, and five hits in three frames.

Trailing 2-1 through two innings in the nightcap, Concordia got all the offense it needed to sweep the series by scoring four times in the third. Colton Gommert blasted a two-run single to put the Tornados ahead by a 5-2 score. Sul Ross State made another valiant effort to come back in the late innings thanks to a Dakota Dill single that scored two, but Spelbring closed the door and kept the Lobos off the board the rest of the way.

Austin Rupert ended the afternoon with a 3-1 record after picking up the victory for Concordia, which is ranked 12th nationally by the American Baseball Coaches Association and 21st by D3hoops.com. Over 6.2 frames, he allowed three hits and one run while finishing with four strikeouts and issuing one walk. Spelbring picked up his first save after not allowing a hit or a run in the final two innings. Sul Ross State's Luke Fry was tagged with the loss and fell to 4-3. He allowed six hits and five runs, which were all earned, over seven frames.

Concordia (21-6, ASC 7-2) visits Mary Hardin-Baylor for a three-game series on March 30-31.
-agate-
#12/#21 Concordia                                 102     021     1     7     9     2
Sul Ross State                                         012     010     0     4    10    1
Concordia: Tyler Grygar, Jacob Spelbring (5), Russell Johns (7), Ryan Ullmann (7) and Collin Janssen.
Sul Ross State: Jay Croft, Ray Gutierrez (5) and Justin Jones.

#12/#21 Concordia (21-6, ASC 7-2)     104     000     000     5     7     2
Sul Ross State (6-21, ASC 2-7)             200     000     020     4     7     1
Concordia: Scott Weinschenk, Austin Rupert (1), Russell Johns (7), Jacob Spelbring (7) and Collin Janssen.
Sul Ross State: Luke Fry, Lucas Garza (8) and Emmett Crisp.