PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Tucker Gegenfurtner (Fr.-Onalaska, Wis.) and Zak Keegan (Jr.-Frankfort, Ill.) hit a pair of two-out, two-run singles in the bottom of the sixth inning, the latter giving the Lakeland University baseball team the lead and an eventual 8-7 victory over Concordia University Wisconsin Thursday afternoon.

The Muskies won their home opener and the first game of their Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader against the Falcons. Concordia came back for a 12-4 win in the second game to earn a split of the day.

Lakeland (6-10 overall, 1-3 NACC) won in dramatic fashion in the first game, scoring four times in the bottom of the sixth to rally from a 7-4 deficit. Dylan Costello (So.-New Berlin, Wis.) singled with one out, Chris Day (So.-Victorville, Calif.) walked and then Kellen Hodges (Sr.-Littleton, Colo.) reached on a dropped fly to center field, the latter a mistake that would soon haunt CUW.

OakLee Spens (Sr.-South Weber, Utah) fouled out for the second out of the inning, but then Gegenfurtner hit a single to left to score pinch runner Dylan Kregelka (Jr.-Seffner, Fla.) and Day, and runners moved to second and third after a throwing error on the play. The second Concordia error of the inning also would lead to a run when Keegan followed and hit a ball through the right side for a base hit, with Hodges scoring the tying run and Gegenfurtner coming home with the go-ahead run.

Keegan's hit was his third of a game where he also drove in four runs, and Eli Watkins (Fr.-Herrin, Ill.) would finish out a solid relief performance by pitching a 1-2-3 seventh. Watkins pitched four innings in relief of starter Anthony Yust (So.-Kenosha, Wis.) and allowed six hits and three runs with three strikeouts for his first collegiate win. The Muskies also benefitted from an error-free performance in the field to win despite CUW holding a slim 10-9 advantage in hits in the game.

Concordia (8-9 overall, 3-1 NACC) would come back to control the second game, scoring a run in the top of the first and never trailing. The Falcons finished with 15 hits and scored in five different innings, and CUW pitchers also coerced Lakeland hitters into 19 strikeouts in the nine-inning game to cap the doubleheader.

The Muskies scored twice in the bottom of the third to cut into an early 3-0 Concordia lead. Aiden Swann (Fr.-Aurora, Ill.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and later scored on a passed ball, and Gegenfurtner later singled down the right field line to score Day to make it 3-2.

The Falcons answered with a run in the fourth and then opened it up with five runs in the top of the fifth on just two hits, taking advantage of two Lakeland errors, two hit batters and two walks. The Muskies would come back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth on RBI singles by Keegan and Costello to get within 9-4 but would get no closer.

Keegan and Day had two hits each in the second game. Nathan Stephany (Fr.-Kiel, Wis.) started and pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits and nine runs (seven earned) with four strikeouts.

Lakeland is back home Saturday to face Aurora University for two games starting at noon.