Cardinals sweep Yellow Jackets Thursday night

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Defiance College visited the Concordia Cardinals at Lake Trust Stadium on Thursday evening and was swept 2-0. Despite a tough first outing, three lead changes in a high-scoring game two made for a thrilling affair. 

Game One: Defiance 3, Concordia 11 (5 innings)

Through the first three innings, Concordia (10-10, 5-1 WHAC) got off to a 6-0 lead with seven hits off of Defiance (8-19, 1-4 WHAC) pitchers Anika Craft and Sydney Fackler, who replaced Craft ahead of the third. For the Yellow Jackets, Ali Mowen started on the plate at the top of fourth and was hit by the pitch to reach first base. Craft followed up and landed on first due to a fielder's choice, leaving Mowen out on the play. Back-to-back singles by Kaylee Heath and Morgan Scott got the bases moving; Scott's hit sent Craft home to put one on the board for DC. Next up, Emma Linn grounded out to first base, but earned an RBI as Heath scored. 

At the top of the fifth, with runners on first and third, Mowen committed a sacrifice fly as Madison Guggenbiller ran home. Craft became the final out of the inning and the Cardinals remained ahead 6-3. 

Concordia scored five at the bottom of the fifth inning to earn the run-rule win. 

Game Two: Defiance 12, Concordia 16

Contrary to game one, Defiance got off to a hot start with three hits and three runs in the first inning. As Ali Mowen and Morgan Scott possessed third and first, a homerun from Emma Linn earned her a triple RBI as all three offenders rounded the bases. This was Linn's first collegiate homer and third extra-base hit. The bottom of both the first and second innings featured a combined three hits and two runs from Concordia with Madelynn Vickers at pitcher for the Yellow Jackets. 

Back up to bat at the top of the third, hits from Kaylee Heath, Linn and Anna Emswiler earned Defiance two more runs; Emswiler charged a double to earn two RBIs on the play. 

The Cardinals took off in their next two chances at-bat with five runs in the third and nine in the fourth. After two home runs and two singles for Concordia, Taighen Zipfel took over on the mound midway through the third inning. In the fourth, Zipfel struggled pitching as Sydney Fackler took over for the freshman following three hits and two walks. Despite the pitching change, the Cardinals capitalized on their momentum with seven more runs, ultimately leading to Anika Craft entering the game at pitcher. A quick groundout to Craft became the out the Jackets needed. 

Defiance notched four hits and RBIs for Craft, Heath and Scott upped its score to 12, but a final groundout from Linn to third base ended the game. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS  

• Offensively, Emma Linn shined for the Yellow Jackets with a homerun, four RBIs, two doubles and three total runs. The freshman hit 42% on the day.  

• Collectively, Defiance earned 10 more hits in game two compared to game one (14-4). Kaylee Heath and Morgan Scott each notched hits in both games. 

• Avery Roever posted her second two-hit game of the season in game two. Her previous was March 1 at West Virginia Tech. Additionally, she accounted for two runs. 

• Scott recorded a .500 hit percentage and a homerun (game two).

• First baseman Madison Guggenbiller led the day with 12 putouts. 

• Anika Craft (2 IP) and Sydney Fackler (2.2 IP) shared the mound in game one. Craft took the loss and is now 4-8 on the season. 

• Madelynn Vickers (2.1 IP), Taighen Zipfel (1 IP), Fackler (0.1 IP) and Craft (2.1 IP) pitched in game two. Zipfel took the loss and is now 2-3 on the season. 

UP NEXT

On Saturday, the Yellow Jackets will travel to Cleary for another WHAC doubleheader. The contest was originally scheduled to be played at Defiance, but the location was changed due to Sal Hench Field's conditions following previous weather conditions. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.

-JACKETS-