Atherton, CA:

Menlo saw two comebacks fall short on Saturday, dropping both games of a conference doubleheader against Concordia University.  The Cavaliers held on for a 12-9 victory in the opener and duplicated that performance with a 9-5 win in the second game, pushing their conference record to 5-2 with an overall mark of 11-7.  With the two losses the Oaks are now 3-8 in the Cascade and 6-17 overall. 

In the first tilt of the double dip, Menlo buried themselves in an early 8-0 hole.  Concordia posted a five spot in the top of the 1^st, with the big hit coming off the bat of first baseman Sean Myrom, who hit a three-run home run off starting pitcher Sean Sweeney to push a two-run affair into a 5-0 lead.  Sweeney lasted 2.2 innings, allowing eight earned in picking up his first loss of the season. 

Myrom was at it again in the top of the 3^rd, lining a two out, two-run double down the left field line to give the Cavaliers a 7-0 advantage.  Two batters later, center fielder Jimmy Sanchez extended the lead to 8-0, with an RBI single to plate Myrom, who finished the game going 2-for-3 with five RBI's and two runs scored.

Credit the Oaks who battled back after being down by eight.  The lethal combination of Michael Brandi and C.J. Dailey brought Menlo right back in the thick of things as the two combined to go 8-for-9, as Brandi was a perfect 5-for-5, and Dailey blasted a home run as part of a three RBI showing for the native of Bellevue, Washington. 

The Oaks scored one in the 3^rd, two in the 4^th, and two in the 5^th to come within three runs, now down 8-5. 

The scored remained at 8-5 until the top of the 7^th inning when the Cavaliers struck for four to seemingly put the game out of reach, now on top 12-5.  With two out, a run in, and the bases still loaded, right fielder Sheldon Austria delivered the big blow, with a two-run single to right off Alex Tenorio, pushing the score to 11-5.  Shortstop Jordan Keeker followed the Austria heroics with an RBI single of his own to give Concordia the 12-5 lead. 

Menlo made it a game in the bottom of the 8^th, scoring four runs to chop the Cavaliers advantage to 12-9.  The aforementioned Brandi and Dailey each had RBI's in the frame, and the same can be said for Aaron Suarez-Lopez who picked up a run-scoring knock as well. 

Menlo did the brunt of the damage off senior right hander Jon Collier, before he was lifted with one out in the inning in favor of junior Jared Young.  Young pitched the final inning and two thirds, surrendering just one hit in a scoreless effort to notch his second save of the season. 

The Oaks had a brief rally in the bottom of the 9^th after James Threw led off the inning with a single, but Young induced a double play on Mickey Phelps and retired John Hanley to end Menlo's comeback bid.  Sophomore reliever Oliver Wange earned the victory with 2.2 innings of work, allowing two earned runs on three hits. 

In the second game of the twin bill, the Oaks once again fell in an early hole, after Concordia scored two in the 1^st and one in the 2^nd to take a 3-0 advantage.  Singles by Suarez-Lopez and Matt Ramon in the bottom of the 3^rd helped Menlo get a run back, but in the top of the 4^th, the aforementioned Sean Myrom hit his second home run of the doubleheader to give the Cavaliers a 4-1 lead. 

Menlo earned a run in the bottom of the inning with an RBI off the bat of Scott Dreier, but Concordia continued to apply the pressure with one in the 6^th, three in the 7^th, and one in the 8^th to take a commanding 9-2 lead. 

Fast forward to the bottom of the 9^th inning and the Oaks put together a valiant comeback attempt.  Cavaliers' starting pitcher Jason Snodgrass had retired 13 in a row as he entered the 9^th, but fell into trouble as the inning began.  Menlo's Jonathan Ochoa led off the frame with his first hit of the season, and then was pushed to third on Kaimi Haina's first hit as well, a double down the line in right. 

A walk to the next hitter, Michael Brandi, gave the rally legs and things really picked up with a two-run single by Will Pierce to bring the score to 9-4.  After Snodgrass recorded the first out of the inning, his day came to a close after C.J. Dailey singled to left to load the bases.  

The Cavaliers called on junior Shayne Nakata, who came in and shut the door on Menlo's dramatic comeback attempt, retiring the final two hitters to tab his first save of the year.  Nakata did throw a wild pitch which allowed Brandi to touch up home, so the final read 9-5. 

Snodgrass with his stellar 8.1 innings earned his team leading 4^th win of the year, while Menlo's Tristan Heckerl was saddled with the loss. 

The Oaks will attempt to salvage a series split in the finale on Sunday, March 11^th.  The game was originally scheduled for 1:00pm, but first pitch has now been moved to 12:00pm.