Geoff Bray and Adam Flaherty blanked Minnesota Crookston (1-33, 1-17 NSIC) for 14 consecutive innings as Concordia-St. Paul (26-8, 15-3 NSIC) swept the Golden Eagles (game one 11-0, game two 13-0) for the second straight day at Robert E. Barnes Field on a cold, blistery Sunday afternoon.
Bray improved to 6-1 on the season as the Golden Bears scored five in the second and four in the third en route to a 11-0 victory. Bray went the distance to pick up his third shutout of the season, scattering four hits and a walk while racking up six strikeouts.
The Bears scored all five runs in the second inning with two outs and sent 10 batters to the plate. The rally was sparked by a Paul McKenzie RBI double to deep center field, a Jake Waldman RBI single through the left side, and a Chris Duda RBI single to right.
In the third inning, Mason Reinhart got things going with a one-out home run, peppering the Gangelhoff Center wall, his fourth home run of the season. Jon Schemmel added a two-run triple over the center fielder's head, and Duda drove him in with a single past the first baseman, giving CU a 9-0 lead.
Schemmel picked up his third RBI with a single, driving in McKenzie in the fifth. Tony Boxwell lined a shot over the scoreboard in center field for his second home run of the season.
Four Bears had multi-hit games, led by Reinhart's 3-4 performance, and McKenzie reached safely in each of his four plate appearances, going 1-1 with two walks, a hit by pitch, a double, three runs scored, and an RBI.
In game two, Flaherty was flawless, striking out the first three batters he faced while retiring the first 10 hitters of the game with five strikeouts. His first blemish was in the fourth inning when he hit a batter with one out.
He carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning when Thompson pinch hit for the Golden Eagles and hit a chopper over the mound that died in between Flaherty and Schemmel.
Flaherty finished the game allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out eight in his second shutout of the season, improving his record to 4-3. He has now won his last three decisions after starting 1-3.
The Bears got on the board early when Erik Quarberg singled home Schemmel in the first. They added six more in the third, sparked by a two-run triple by Reinhart, followed by a two-run home run by Waldman down the right-field line. It was Waldman's first career home run.
The Bears led off the fourth inning with three straight doubles by Duda, Quarberg, and Bobby Meier. Meier's double drove in Duda and Quarberg. Reinhart doubled him home and scored on Waldman's RBI single. Andy Hanson smacked the Bears fifth double of the inning as the Bears crossed the plate five more times for a 12-0 lead.
Three players drove in three runs for Concordia: Meier, Reinhart, and Waldman. Quarberg and Meier each had three-hit games, while Reinhart, Waldman, and Hanson had a pair.
Reinhart finished the doubleheader 5-8, scoring and driving in four runs while hitting a double, triple, homerun, and two singles.
The Bears have now won five consecutive games and return to action with a non-conference game at St. Cloud State on Wednesday afternoon. With the four-game sweep, the Bears move into a tie for first place atop the NSIC standings with Wayne State. The Bears close out the conference season next weekend when they travel to Northern State for a pair of Saturday/Sunday doubleheaders, while Wayne State hosts Bemidji State.
