Concordia-St. Paul (9-3, 1-1 NSIC) earned a split to open their Northern Sun schedule on the road against Wayne State (13-7, 1-1 NSIC), losing the first game 6-3 before taking game two 8-4. The Bears hit four home runs in the two games, including three in the second game to earn the split.
Chris Duda went 4-7 with a homerun, a pair of doubles, three runs, and four RBIs in the doubleheader, while Eric Quarberg went 2-6 with a home run and four RBIs.
Jon Schemmel tripled to lead off game one and was driven in by Quarberg's sacrifice fly to right field to give Concordia an early 1-0 lead.
But the Wildcats countered with three runs in the first and second innings to take a commanding 6-1 lead.
Rob Maslowski came out of the bullpen to relieve Adam Flaherty, and he shut the Wildcats down, pitching 4.2 shutout innings, surrendering just four hits and striking out two.
Duda hit a two-run blast in the third inning to cut the score to 6-3, but it was not enough to spark a comeback for the Bears, whose three-game winning streak was snapped as Flaherty took the loss.
The Bears got off to another strong start in game two, as Quarberg drilled a solo home run to center field in the top of the first.
That long ball set the tone for Concordia, who never surrendered the lead, getting seven more runs in the fourth through sixth innings
Bobby Meier's solo shot capped off a two-run fourth inning, and they added three more in the fifth off of a RBI double by Duda, followed by RBI singles by Quarberg and Tony Boxwell.
A sixth-inning leadoff home run by Mason Reinhart and a RBI single by Duda gave the Bears an 8-3 lead as they cruised to an 8-4 victory.
Eric Utoft earned the victory, improving to 3-0 on the season as he pitched 4.2 innings, allowing three unearned runs while striking out four. Geoff Bray finished the contest, pitching 2.1 innings and allowing a run on three hits to earn his first save of the season.
Concordia returns to action on Wed., March 30 as they travel down Snelling Ave to take on Macalaster College at 3 p.m.