AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas baseball team brought out the bats, recording 12 hits on the day and pushing across double-digit runs, and took the series opener over Ozarks 11-4 Friday.
 
Four Tornados put together multi-hit performances, led by Shawn Huber with three base knocks and Kalen Moreno with two hits and three RBIs. Mason Dubois jump started the offense with a two-run homer in the first, and EJ Sanchez picked up two RBIs and scored two runs.
 
Colton Hunter turned in a quality start, allowing no earned runs in five innings while scattering six hits and striking out six, and earned his second win of the season with the performance.
 
Concordia Texas was seeing the ball well from the beginning, starting the game with a leadoff triple from Chris Varljen and the big fly from the bat of Dubois. Thanks to some early offense, the Tornados took a 2-0 lead.
 
Ozarks struck back in the top of the third, taking advantage of a CTX error and blasting a two-RBI triple to tie the game at 2-2.
 
In the bottom of the third, Moreno poked a two-RBI single up the middle, bringing home Huber and Sanchez. After three, the Tornados led 4-2.
 
Ozarks cut into the deficit in the fifth, scoring a run on a CTX error and bringing the score to 4-3.
 
The Tornados took that run back plus some in the bottom half, starting with a leadoff single from Kaden Kleinert. Kleinert came around to score on a passed ball, and a squeeze bunt put down by Riley Becker brought home Sanchez for the second run of the inning. Finally, an RBI single from Jayden Hernandez capped off the inning, giving CTX a 7-3 lead heading into the sixth.
 
An Ozarks RBI single in the top of the sixth cut into the lead, bringing the score to 7-4.
 
In the bottom half, the Tornados answered once again. After Huber began the frame with a single, Ozarks botched a throw on a sacrifice bunt from Aaron Gomez, bringing Huber around to score. Next, Gomez came home on a squeeze bunt from Moreno, pushing the lead to 9-4 after six innings.
 
EJ Sanchez delivered some additional insurance in the bottom of the seventh, lacing a two-RBI single up the middle. Heading into the final two innings, the Tornados led 11-4.
 
Easton Migl closed the door in the ninth by retiring the side in order, picking up his second save of the season thanks to four innings of one-run baseball in relief.
 
The Tornados will return tomorrow with a chance for a series win, playing the final two games in doubleheader fashion. The first game will begin at 11 a.m. at Tornado Field, and the annual golf ball drop will occur between games.