Concordia Baseball Settles For Second

Stingers Stand By and Watch Their Title Be Taken

SportsTyler Finigan — Published October 17, 2011

After eight straight hours of baseball, the Concordia Stingers gave up their conference crown in a 4-0 loss to the Carleton Ravens on Sunday.
ConU played a triple-header in which a constant flow of errors proved costly, causing them a loss in the opening and tie-breaking game of the series.

“When we want to play, we will win.”

The battle for first seemed evenly matched during the
better part of the first game, with both teams posting a run in
the first and third inning.
It wasn’t until the fifth that the Stingers broke free with a one run lead, but the lead died quickly as the Ravens posted two runs early in the sixth.
With one inning left, ConU failed to answer back.
This was a game where the Stingers struggled defensively. A fair amount of botched plays and dropped relays would allow too many base runners for them to handle.

This eventually caused starting pitcher Kechayen Alex to falter and let up too many runs, losing 4-3. Alex declined to comment on his performance.
After losing the first game of last week’s series against McGill, the Stingers found themselves in a similar position. Despite the abundance of glaring mistakes and lack of hitting, head coach Howard Schwartz stayed confident.

“At least we have the experience of knowing that we have to tank a game before we start playing and we certainly tanked,” said Schwartz, “When we want to play, we will win.”

The Stingers brushed off their opening loss and proceeded to win their second with the aid of a three-run homer slugged by shortstop Marco Masciotra and relief pitcher Brandon Bercovits keeping them alive in the series.

“Feels great, I couldn’t ask for anything else, we’re back to Game 3 again, just like last weekend, and I’m sure we can pull it off again,” Bercovits said.

The win was well-deserved. ConU’s hitting became an evident factor, along with a sufficient defense game powered by an acrobatic outfield the Ravens were kept behind. The Stingers took their second game 6-4.

One game was left to play. Both teams, exhausted from their two previous games, took the field, but with ConU coming off a win, confidence was in the air. “I have great confidence in the team that they will do their best, I think they’ll dig deep and I think they’ll find what it takes to get through this third game,” said ConU’s Athletic Director Katie Sheahan. “It means a lot to them to go into the championship on top of the conference pile and I think that’s what they’re going to do, it’ll be well earned.”

The Stingers’ confidence level tumbled in the third game, however. This was seen early on, as they were shut down by the Ravens in the first inning, who pocketed two runs with ease. These two runs would be all the Ravens needed to take the Conference final.

Carleton head coach Rick Young couldn’t be more proud of his team’s effort. “Feels pretty good; we have a really good team. To get two on [Concordia] today was nice to have. [We had] a lot of doubts but in the end, with lots of effort and practice, the final result paid off,” said Young.

While the Stingers didn’t get the results they were looking for, they’ll have a chance to redeem themselves at the nationals this weekend in Moncton. Their first game is on Friday.