Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

MEQUON, Wis. - The Benedictine University baseball team kept pace with the leaders in the Northern Athletics Conference by posting a sweep of Concordia University Wisconsin on the road Saturday to make it a perfect weekend.

GAME ONE: BENEDICTINE 14, CONCORDIA WISCONSIN 3 (Eight Innings)
Already leading 6-0, Benedictine made it a short opener by scoring eight runs in the eighth on the way to a 14-3 win.

The Eagles struck in the top of the fourth inning for five runs. Ryan Mullin led off with a walk and John Cervantes followed with a double down the left field line. With one away Nick Karakosta put Benedictine ahead with a triple to center. Uli Ortiz made it 3-0 with an RBI single and quickly stole second. Tim Hendricks and Chris Wanderling posted singles to load the bases for Dan Zust, who stroked a two-run single.

Cervantes extended the lead to 6-0 with an RBI fielder's choice in the seventh. The big inning came in the eighth. Ortiz and Hendricks opened the inning with singles and Wanderling walked to load the bases. Zust drove home the first run with an RBI single. The second run of the inning scored on an error. Mullin collected an RBI single and Cervantes lifted a sacrifice fly. A walk to Tom Higgins prompted a pitching change. Karakosta continued the string with an RBI single. Pinch hitter Mike Luschen knocked home two with a single and Mike Loni, also pinch hitting, finished the scoring with an RBI single as well.

Concordia plated three runs in the bottom of the inning to account for the final tally. Kevin Crowley tossed seven shutout innings to pick up the win, improving to 3-4 on the year. Crowley struck out eight and allowed just four hits with a pair of walks.

Benedictine mashed 16 hits, the fifth conscutive contest with 10 or more hits. Hendricks led the way with three hits while Zust, Karakosta, and Ortiz posted two each. Zust and Karakosta also drove home three runs.

GAME TWO: BENEDICTINE 3, CONCORDIA WISCONSIN 1
Game two was a stark contrast to the opener, but Benedictine rode the pitching of Nick Diessner, Spencer Lehmann, and Shay Wagner to the win, taking advantage of five errors from the hosts.

Diessner started for the first time this year and worked into the fifth inning, allowing just one run. Diessner surrendered four hits while walking one and striking out three. Benedictine helped out Diessner with a run before he even took to the mound. Zust led off the game with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice from Steve Cocat. Cervantes came through with a two-out RBI single to open the scoring.

The Eagles extended the lead to 3-0 with two fourth inning runs. Mullin began the inning with a single and moved to third on a failed pickoff, eventually coming around to score on another error. Ortiz drove home the second run with a two-out single. Concordia Wisconsin's lone run came in the bottom of the inning.

Lehmann entered in the fifth and threw 3.2 flawless frames to pick up the win. Lehmann scattered two hits while striking out three. Wagner finished out the game by pitching the ninth to earn his sixth save, tied for the most in the conference.

Benedictine (18-13, 12-4) improved to a season best five games over .500. The Eagles will have a busy week ahead beginning on Wednesday night with a 6:00 p.m. game against Wheaton College at The Sports Complex.