Concordia-St. Paul (14-3, 5-1 NSIC) got two walk-off RBI singles on Sunday afternoon as they swept Bemidji State (0-19, 0-4 NSIC) at Robert E. Barnes Field. They won game one 2-1 in eight innings before taking game two 8-7.
Game one was close throughout, but the Bears struck first in the bottom of the fifth. Andy Hanson ledoff the inning with a walk and advanced to second on Jacob Waldman's sacrifice bunt. James Kramer followed with a RBI single to center field.
But the Beavers answered in the top half of the sixth inning, scoring on a RBI groundout.
The score remained knotted at one after seven full innings, forcing an extra frame. Geoff Bray continued his strong pitching as he cruised through the eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Erik Quarberg got the Bears going with a one-out single to left. Bobby Meier reached on a fielder's choice and then stole second to get in scoring position for Mason Reinhart.
Bray improved to 4-0 with the victory, notching his third complete game of the season, allowing one run on four hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts.
With two down and a runner on second, Reinhart drilled a pitch right back up the middle that deflected off of second base, allowing Meier to score easily to give Concordia the victory.
In game two, the Bears jumped all over the Beavers, scoring six runs in the first inning. The inning was highlighted by a Hanson two-run single to left and a two-run double to right center by Galen Wetzell.
Adam Flaherty started for Concordia and cruised through the first three innings with the six-run lead but ran into trouble in the fourth and was pulled after pitching 3.2 innings with two runners on and one in. Rob Maslowski came on in relief and let in Flaherty's runners but pitched out of the jam, and Concordia held a 6-3 lead going into the bottom of the fourth.
Reinhart drove a single to left that scored Meier in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 7-3, and Maslowski mowed down the Beavers in the fifth before allowing two in the sixth.
Nick Davis came out of the bullpen with two down and a runner on first in the sixth inning and pitched out of the jam to hold a 7-5 lead. The Beavers rallied again in the seventh, scoring two more runs to tie the score as Ryan Fixell relieved Davis.
Hanson led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to left and then advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved over to third on Waldman's sacrifice bunt. With two outs and Hanson on third, Wetzell stepped up and drove a single through the hole into right field, scoring Hanson and extending Concordia's winning streak to five games.
Fixell is credited with the win, improving to 2-0 on the season after pitching 0.2 scoreless innings.
The Bears return to action next weekend, April 9-10 for a four-game home stand with future NSIC member Upper Iowa. Saturday's doubleheader starts at 1:00 p.m., and Sunday's doubleheader begins at noon.
