AUSTIN, Texas – In a doubleheader, Jake Valadez led the Concordia Baseball team with seven RBIs, completing the sweep of Hardin-Simmons for their fourth-straight win on Saturday.

In game one, Jake Valadez only had two hits, but made each count as both were home runs. He put the Tornados on the board in the first with an inside-the-park three-run home run as the ball rolled to the center field wall and made it 3-0.

Leading 7-3 in the sixth, Valadez blasted his second three-run home run of the game over the right field wall as CTX scored four runs in the inning putting the game out of reach at 10-3.
Justin Traxler pitched all seven innings for the Tornados for the complete game win as he only allowed three runs on four hits for his second win of the season.

In game two, Matthew Brown came on in relief, pitching 7.1 innings of shutout ball, allowing only three hits to the Cowboys.
Casen Novak led the way for CTX at the plate with a perfect for five-for-five day, a new career-high for hits in a game for him.

The Tornados led 3-1 after the first three frames as Michael Evan, Caleb Maddox and Novak had RBI singles. CTX would add four more runs in the fifth as Valadez had his third hit of the day and his seven RBI of the doubleheader when a single brought home Bret Leiferman and led 7-1 after five.

Brown was dominant throughout the game, sitting down 13 straight hitters at one point, and not allowing a base runner to reach third till the eighth. After allowing a leadoff single in the ninth, Brown forced three straight fly outs to end the game and give CTX the sweep.

Between the games, the Tornados honored its 12 seniors and former baseball coach Mike Gardner. Head Coach Tommy Boggs honored his seniors and their families with a ceremony on the field.

Boggs also brought out former players from both Gardner and his coaching era as they honored the winningest coach in program history by retiring his jersey number 37. The winningest pitcher in Concordia baseball history, Chema Chavez, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Gardner's son Aaron to cap the ceremony.

CTX will now travel to Abilene, Texas for its final regular season series against McMurry, beginning on April 28 at 7 p.m., before preparing for the American Southwest Conference Tournament.