the concordia university (10-6, 4-2 nsic) pitching staff struck out bemidji state (5-12-1, 3-3 nsic) 12 times each in a doubleheader sweep, taking the first game 20-3 before a close 3-2 win in the second game. The series, which was scheduled to be played at bemidji state on saturday and sunday, had been moved to bob barnes field at concordia on sunday and monday due to a snow covered bsu field.
not only did concordia's pitching staff make headlines with the strikeouts, but the offense was revved up by junior right fielder brenden furrow (johnston, iowa), who went 4-5 with a home run, two doubles and seven rbi in the first game before extending his hitting streak to 18 games in the second game with a leadoff single in the sixth inning and coming in with the game-winning run on senior shortstop derek mason's (minnetonka, minn.) sacrifice fly to right field.
game one: cu 20, bemidji state 3
senior centerfielder joe abellera (minnetonka, minn.) led off the game with a towering fly ball to right centerfield. The ball appeared to be safely in centerfielder ryan johnson's glove until he collided with right fielder ryan bohannan, jarring the ball loose.
unfortunately for bemidji state, both players stayed down as the ball trickled out to the warning track, allowing abellera to fly around the bases for a leadoff inside the park home run. Bohannan was forced to leave the game and did not return in the second game.
the home run for concordia set the tone, as the beavers committed errors on the next two plays setting up an rbi double by furrow. Junior third baseman zane froelich (sioux falls, s.d.) and mason each added rbi singles in the inning to put up four runs in the first.
bemidji state scored one in the bottom of the first and josh juntunen added a leadoff home run in the third, but by that point it was already too late as concordia had built an 8-2 lead after the solo shot.
the golden bears would deliver back-to-back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning, a three run shot to deep left center by furrow starting things off. Froelich followed with a deep home run down the left field, easily clearing the 330 foot sign and senior first baseman john maciej (elk river, minn.) delivered an opposite field home run just over the right centerfield fence in the deepest part of the park.
concordia would hit home run number five in the seventh inning when junior catcher chris herbert pounded a solo home run to left centerfield for concordia's 20th run.
the golden bears put up 22 hits in 40 team at bats with every starter getting at least one hit. Froelich and furrow each had four hit performances and abellera and senior second baseman jake waldman (minnetonka, minn.) each had three hit games. Concordia had eight extra base hits in the game, three coming from furrow and two by herbert, who also doubled.
on the mound, junior right hander jake schmidt continued to dominate, matching his career-high strikeout total with 12 in a complete game win. He scattered eight hits and walked two in the 105 pitch outing, throwing just 28 balls in the effort. He improves to 4-0 on the season and has registered 39 strikeouts in 28 innings with only six walks. His era stands at 3.21 and he is holding opponents to a mere .198 avg.
for the beavers, their top three hitters in the order all had two-hit games and scored all three of their runs. Matt fossen took the loss, falling to 1-2. He pitched just 1.1 innings, allowing seven runs (four earned) on six hits and a walk, throwing 41 pitches to 11 batters.
game two: cu 3, bemidji state 2
the run production from the first game did not carry over, but the strikeout tone set by schmidt did, as sophomore right hander blake devries (eden prairie, minn.) continued to show poise and command carrying over from his last start against upper iowa.
devries struck out 10 in six innings, allowing five hits, two runs and two walks. He faced 26 batters and kept his pitch count under 100 at 99, throwing 63 strikes. He earned the victory, improving to 1-3 on the year while junior left handed relief specialist kirk ingram (woodbury, minn.) came out of the bullpen to strike out two more beavers to pick up his first save.
concordia scored first again, this time in the second inning when junior designated hitter paul mckenzie (minnetonka, minn.) produced an rbi double to score senior shortstop derek mason (minnetonka, minn.) from first base with two outs.
they went up 2-0 in the third inning on an rbi groundout from junior right fielder brenden furrow (johnston, iowa), scoring senior second baseman jake waldman (minnetonka, minn.) who drew a one out walk and moved to third on a double to right center by junior catcher chris herbert (white bear lake, minn.).
bemidji state answered in the bottom of the third when their leadoff hitter justin huether delivered a two run home run just over the outstretched arm of left fielder ted farni (minnetonka, minn.) in left centerfield.
neither team scored in the fourth or fifth innings but it was the golden bears who scored the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth with furrow leading off with a single. He moved to second on a base hit by junior third baseman zane froelich (sioux falls, s.d.) and advanced to third on a fly out to deep right center by senior first baseman john maciej (elk river, minn.).
mason duplicated maciej's deep fly ball to advance furrow 90 feet further to score the eventual game-winner.
devries shut down the peacocks in the sixth and ingram gave up a leadoff single in the seventh, but the beavers stranded josh silvernagel on second with one out as ingram struck out the final two batters swinging.
concordia and bemidji state square off again today at bob barnes field at noon, weather permitting.
the golden bears will be the guest on the scoreboard with the series technically being hosted by bemidji state according to league rules.
