TOPEKA, Kan. - A late rally from CSP baseball fell short, as they dropped the series finale at Falley Field to the Washburn Ichabods , 18-12 on Monday afternoon.
 
Jaden Werner and Chris Jacobs led the Golden Bears (0-4, 0-0 NSIC) with late inning home runs to cut the Ichabods (6-7, 0-0 MIAA) lead to six, but it was not enough. Gavin Rusch made his first start of the season in a game with seven different CSP pitchers.
 
BOX SCORE
Washburn struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning after a two run home run, an RBI triple and a CSP fielding error propelled them to a 4-0 advantage.
 
In the top of the second, a leadoff double from Jaden Werner gave CSP their first hit of the game. Noah Juliar would reach base a few at-bats later with a walk before getting his first stolen base of the season. However, with runners in scoring positions, the Ichabods would stand the pair on base with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. 
 
The Golden Bears used a big third inning to tie the game at four runs apiece. With the bases loaded and two outs in the inning, Bryce Nelson was hit with the first pitch he saw at the plate, allowing Mason Wolf to score from third. In the next at-bat, a three-RBI triple from Juliar would tie the game, 4-4.
 
The momentum from the third carried over to the fourth, as CSP would grab their first and only lead of the game with a pair of runs in the top of the inning. The first run resulted from an RBI single by Brayden Roybal that drove Koby McBroome, and the second run occurred after Werner hit an RBI single through the left side to score Roybal from second.
 
However, the Ichabods responded with a big fourth inning of their own with four runs, which included back-to-back home runs with two outs in the inning.
 
The Ichabods held the Golden Bears scoreless for the next three innings and added three runs in the fifth and sixth innings, along with four more runs in the seventh inning to take a 12 point lead.
 
Concordia got the bats to connect with six runs on seven hits in the top of the eighth inning to cut into the Ichabods lead. Mitch Klass used an RBI single to push McBroome across for the first run of the inning. In the next at-bat, Werner hit a three run shot over the left field wall for his first home run of the 2023 campaign. Shortly after Nelson reached base with a single through the left side, Chris Jacobs added the second home run of the inning for the Golden Bears with a two-run shot to left field.
 
However, the rally would fall short as Washburn would hold the Golden Bears scoreless in the top of the ninth and take the finale,18-12.
 
HIGHLIGHTS AND HAPPENINGS
-Werner finished the day 3-for-6 from the plate with four RBIs, his first home run of the season, a double and a run
 
-Jacobs added his first home run as a Golden Bear in a 1-for-2 outing at the plate
 
-Juliar finished 1-for-3 with a three RBI triple, a stolen base and a walk
 
-McBroome finished a perfect 2-for-2 with a pair of runs and a walk
 
-Rusch made his first start of the season. The sophomore allowed five runs on five hits and led the team with three strikeouts in 3.1 innings
 
-Mason Nadolney (0-1) was charged with the loss. The junior pitched two-thirds of an inning and three runs on three hits
 
UP NEXT
CSP baseball will look to bounce back and find the win column at the Tucson Invitational on March 3-10 in Tucson, Arizona. The Golden Bears will face Malone (Ohio) in the opening game of the tournament at 4 p.m. followed by a game against Adams State (Colo.) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.