SALINA, Kan. – The Concordia University Bulldogs kept their season going on Tuesday, holding off a late charge by the Our Lady of the Lake University Saints for a 9-8 win in an elimination game in the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round at Dean Evans Stadium.
 
The game was scoreless until the second inning when Concordia got on the board with singles by Andrew Fetty and Layton Rivas ahead of a 3-run homer by Bronx Lewis to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.
 
OLLU got on the board in the bottom of the inning when Aiden Gonzalez doubled to score Jack Kalisky who walked to open the frame.
 
Concordia used the long ball again to add two more runs in the third as Luke Wilson singled and then scored on Jaeden Jordahl's homer. The Bulldogs added two more runs in the fourth as doubles by Rivas and Wilson both yielded runs to extend the Concordia lead.
 
Another homer by Concordia, this time a 2-run shot by Wilson put the Bulldogs up 9-1, but the Saints would put four on the board in the bottom of the sixth to cut into the lead.
 
Joshua Milton reached on an error to start the inning and then scored on Kalisky's single. Diego Zuniga followed with a 2-run homer and later in the inning Brett Atkinson singled to score Gonzalez.
 
The game cruised right along into the bottom of the ninth when OLLU made a run. Atkinson walked and Drew Saucedo was hit by a pitch to open the inning. Jacob Cueva then stepped up and hit a ball back to the pitcher but the throw sailed into center field allowing a run to score.
 
Milton followed with a 2-run double getting the Saints within a run and the tying run on second. Kalisky would fly out and Milton moved to third on the play, but would be stranded there as a ground out and a pop out ended the game.
 
Wilson, Jordahl and Rivas all had three hits for the Bulldogs. Alex Johnson was stellar on the mound for Concordia going seven innings, allowing five runs, three earned on seven hits while striking out 11. Warren Rose got his third save of the season getting the final out of the ninth.
 
Zuniga was the lone OLLU player with multiple hits. Noah Ferraro took the loss allowing seven runs in three innings.
 
OLLU ends its season at 34-20.
 
Concordia advances to a rematch with No. 2 seed Kansas Wesleyan in the final of the losers bracket on Wednesday at 11 a.m. KWU fell to top-seeded Johnson (Tenn.) in Tuesday's second game.