Warriors Swept by No. 24 Concordia on the Road

SEWARD, NEB. – Midland University dropped a Great Plain Athletic Conference (GPAC) doubleheader at No. 24-ranked Concordia University on Sunday. The Warriors, who trailed early in game one, fell short of a comeback, falling 7-6. In the final game of the weekend series, the Bulldogs ran away with the lopsided victory, riding their high-impact offense to a 26-2 win.

GAME ONE: Concordia 7, Midland 6

Concordia opened the contest with a home run, a single, and a sacrifice fly to take the early 2-0 lead. They boosted their lead to 4-0 in the 2nd with a two-run home run.

Midland broke its drought in the 3rd, as Yealex Lopez reached first on an error, then made his way to second via a wild pitch. Beau Boyle singled to get aboard and then back-to-back singles by Hadyn Crawford and Connor Petersen brought Lopez and Boyle home. A sacrifice fly by Jacob Liquori allowed Crawford to score, leaving the Warriors trailing by a run, 4-3.

Nathaniel Reyes opened up the 4th with a single then Alec Villanueva was able to get aboard with a fielder's choice. Lopez doubled out to center field to bring Villanueva home, tying the game at 4-4.

Concordia brought the heat in the bottom of the inning, breaking the tie with a pair of homers, pulling in front 7-4 in front of its Senior Day crowd.

Petersen opened up the 5th with a single and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. He was then moved 90 feet from home on a fly-out. During the next at-bat, the pitcher thumped Jayden Gibson to put the Warriors on corners. Kirkland came on as a courtesy runner and would score along with Petersen as Nathaniel Reyes doubled to left field.

Concordia clung to its one-run lead the rest of the way, clinching the season series along with its two wins from Saturday.

Statistical Standouts

• Nathaniel Reyes: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2B
• Yealex Lopez: 2-for-4, R, RBI, 2B
• Connor Petersen: 2-for-4, R, RBI
• Hadyn Crawford: 1-for-4, R, RBI

GAME TWO: Concordia 26, Midland 2

Concordia turned up the heat as it fired up its bats in the final game of the series. The Bulldogs racked up 24 hits and scored 26 runs, setting a new high-water mark for the season (scored 23 versus Calumet College of St. Joseph). Midland struggled at the plate, registering seven hits and a pair of runs. Defensively, they committed four errors that aided five of the runs scored by the home team.

After falling behind by four runs in the 1st, Midland's deficit grew to 15 before its offense found a spark in the top of the 4th. Hadyn Crawford reached on a double down the line in left and then Alec Villanueva put runners on the corners with a single up the middle. A two-out double by Nathaniel Reyes brought both runners in, which proved to be the extent of the Midland offense for the second game.

Concordia would go on to score four runs in the bottom of the inning and added another in the 5th. In their final plate appearance of the weekend, the Bulldogs tacked on six more runs, making the final score 26 to 2 as the game was called via the run rule in the 7th.

Statistical Standout

• Nathaniel Reyes: 2-for-3, 2 RBI

Midland (19-24, 10-13 GPAC) will return home as they prep for the final weekend of the regular season. They'll host Doane (39-9, 19-5 GPAC) for a conference doubleheader on Friday at Moller Field. Game one of the penultimate series is set for 3:00 p.m. on April 28 in Fremont.