Pride split opening day of four-game weekend against No. 16 Concordia
LINCOLN, Neb. - Heading back out west for the second-straight week to start their 2026 campaign, the Clarke University baseball team opened their four-game series against No. 16 Concordia University Nebraska with a doubleheader split, earning a game one 4-3 win before the Bulldogs ended game two early with an 11-0 run rule victory in game two.
Highlighted by a strong pitching performance from junior starter Kevin Toala, the Pride held a 4-0 lead through six innings and were able to survive a late surge from CUNE, who loaded the bases with two outs before Hayden Vickroy closed the door with a called third strike for the final out after the Bulldogs produced a double, two hit batters, two walks, and a single to bring three runs home all with two outs.
Toala and Vickroy had combined up to that point to hold Concordia scoreless through six innings with Toala throwing five hitless innings, but walking six, while striking out seven to earn his first win in a Clarke uniform then Vickroy pitched a scoreless sixth with help of a ground ball double play to start his two-inning relief appearance.
Backtracking to how the Pride gained their 4-0 lead, they broke through in the top of the third when Cole Swartz led off the inning with the single to turn the lineup over to leadoff man Omari Barksdale, who singled Swartz home after Swartz got to second following an error on a pickoff throw during the at bat, making it 1-0 CU.
Two innings later, Brady Lord would continue his strong start to the 2026 season with a two-run triple to score Swartz again along with Eli Kelley to make it 3-0 on Lord's four-straight game with at least an RBI and third of four games driving in two with the fourth run coming an inning later on an Ethan Hefel sacrifice fly.
In CUNE's game two run rule victory, their two-man pitching tandem of Alex Johnson and Sam Bespoyasny allowed Clarke to only have four baserunners reach over the seven innings, giving up three hits and a walk combined as those three hits came from one apiece from Kelley, Lord, and Jaxon Brooks as the Pride struck out 12 times of the 21 outs recorded by Concordia in the game.
The Bulldogs lead was just 5-0 after five innings but back-to-back three-run innings pushed the lead all the way to the run rule capped off by a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh as a pseudo walkoff for the home team by right fielder Bronx Lewis.
These two teams will face off in another doubleheader in Lincoln on Sunday, Feb. 15 with the first game slated to start at 12:00 p.m. CT for the games to be played as one seven-inning game and one nine-inning game, similar to Saturday.