On March 23, the Cougars owned Concordia Lutheran. With Jeff Abt mixing some serious heat with a strong curve, the first three Crusader batters went down on K's. Abt began the onslaught with a double down the 1st base line, advancing Michael Ellisor to 3rd. Ethan Carnes hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, bringing home Ellisor and advancing pinch runner, Dillon Hendrix to 3rd. Stuart Trahan and Johnathan Martin were walked. Shane Knight then drove in Hendrix and Trahan on a smash to centerfield. A sharp drive to short stop by Kyle Serres brought Knight home. Abt continued his dominance in the 2nd Inning by shutting down the Crusaders, chalking up two more K's. The 2nd Inning started with walks to Ellisor and Carnes. Stuart Trahan advanced the runners with a sacrifice fly to deep centerfield, scoring Ellisor. Martin then singled to centerfield, bringing home Carnes. Martin scored on a throwing error which allowed Knight to reach 1st base on a blown fielder's choice. Score after 2 innings: Northland 7, Concordia 0. Abt continued to frustrate the Crusader hitters with three more strikeouts in the 3rd Inning. The Cougars went scoreless in the 3rd and Abt added to his strikeout total, with two more in the 4th. By the bottom of the 4th, the Concordia pitching was falling apart, walking Martin and Knight. Serres then laid down a perfect bunt down the first base line, scoring Martin and sending Knight to 2nd. Brett Wyatt then brought Knight home. Ellisor had a drive to right field bringing Serres home, bringing the score to 10-0, Cougars. When the Crusaders failed to score in the 5th, they were run-ruled to end the game.
