Eric Utoft earned the victory in game two, while Jacob Campion flirted with a no-hitter in game one as Concordia-St. Paul (24-8, 13-3 NSIC) defeated Minnesota Crookston (1-31, 1-15 NSIC) 8-4 and 7-3 Saturday afternoon at Robert E. Barnes Field.
Campion's bid for a no-hitter was broken up with one out in the fifth inning on a ground ball single through the left side of the infield. He picked up his third complete game of the season as he improved his record to 3-1 on the year. He didn't lose his shutout until the seventh inning, when four runs crossed the plate, all unearned, as he lowered his ERA to 4.31 on the season. He allowed six hits and two walks while striking out three.
The game was knotted at zero through four until Chris Duda doubled in Galen Wetzell, who led off the inning with a single. Duda scored the next pitch when Erik Quarberg drove him home on a single to center, giving Concordia a 2-0 lead.
The next inning, Concordia added the exclamation point with a pair of home runs, a two-run line drive shot to left field by Wetzell and a three-run blast by Bobby Meier. It was Wetzell's second home run of the year and Meier's fifth. Meier's home run came after Duda and Quarberg were each hit by a pitch, forcing UMC to the bullpen.
In game two, the Bears fell behind early, as the Golden Eagles scored a pair in the top of the first. Utoft pitched out of the early jam by striking out a pair, leaving runners stranded on the corners.
Concordia tied the score in the third with a pair of solo home runs by Jon Schemmel and Quarberg. Schemmel's home run to left-center field bounced midway up the Gangelhoff Center wall to leadoff the inning, while Quarberg's blast just missed caroming off of a pickup truck in the right field parking lot. It was Schemmel's third home run and Quarberg's eight of the season.
The Bears took their first lead in the bottom of the fifth when Tony Boxwell drove in Duda with a single to left followed by a sacrifice fly to center by Mason Reinhart, scoring Quarberg.
The Eagles got a run back in the sixth, cutting the score to 4-3, but the CU offense responded with a three-spot in the bottom of the inning. Wetzell led off with a triple to deep right field and came in to score on Schemmel's single to left. Duda followed with a towering home run over the right-field fence to give Concordia a 7-3 lead. It was Duda's sixth homer of the season.
Utoft mowed down UM Crookston in the seventh as he picked up his fifth complete game of the year, striking out seven with no walks while scattering eight hits. His ERA falls to 3.82, and he has 43 strikeouts in 52 innings of work on the year.
Four Bears recorded a pair of hits in the second game: Schemmel, Duda, Quarberg, and Boxwell, who all had at least one RBI, led by Schemmel and Duda with two each. Wetzell swiped his team-leading tenth stolen base of the season in the fourth inning.
Concordia and Minnesota Crookston finish off their four-game series Sunday afternoon at Robert E. Barnes Field with a doubleheader at noon.
