minneapolis, minn. - the golden bears rallied from an 8-1 deficit after three innings in the second game, but left the go-ahead runner on first base as they dropped a 9-8 loss in game two after being shutout 4-0 in game one to st. John's university on wednesday afternoon at metrodome. Senior brenden furrow (johnston, iowa) went 4-4 with a two run home run and three rbi but was left waiting on deck as concordia (2-5) stranded the tying run on second and go-ahead run on first in their sixth one run decision in seven games. St. John's opens 2010 with a pair of victories. game 1 box - game 2 box

game 1: st. John's 4, cu 0
concordia couldn't get the big hit early, leaving three runners in scoring position in the first three innings and the johnnies broke a scoreless tie with two unearned runs in the top of the third.

redshirt freshman andy fagely (rhp, mahtomedi, minn.) took the hill for cu and went four, striking out five while allowing one earned run (three runs) on eight hits. He didn't walk any of the 21 batters he faced but was hit with his first loss, falling to 1-1 on the year.

he was relieved by freshman left hander griff kilber (chanhassen, minn.) who worked out of fagely's jam, allowing one run to score on a sacrfice fly but getting the next two on a strikeout and ground out. Kilber pitched three strong innings out of the bullpen, striking out two without issuing any walks and allowing only two hits in his longest outing yet.

for st. John's, andrew aebly was strong through four, shutting out concordia as he scattered four hits and a walk to earn the win. Hayden zimmerman worked the final three innings, limiting cu to just one hit and two walks with four strikeouts for the save.

junior outfielder jon stockton (oakdale, minn.) paced the lineup with a 2-3 performance including a triple to the right field wall with one out in the third while the other was a laced single to right center in the first. He was stranded on third twice, however as the 3-4-5 of cu's lineup combined to go 0-8 with three strikeouts and a walk.

sju was led by kyle henkemeyer's 3-4 performance with three runs while matt butorac and jimmy loonan each drove in a pair.

game 2: st. John's 9, cu 8
concordia outscored the johnnies 7-1 in from the fourth inning on, but came up just one run short in the end. Sophomore shortstop bryan lippincott (des moines, iowa) struck out against a tough left handed reliever with two outs in the seventh, ending the cu rally that already had plated two with two more on base.

dan beste, sju's reliever, was called in to get one out and it took a tough seven pitch at bat from lippincott before he converted the save. Brett kramer earned his first win of the season with four innings allowing three runs on six hits.

in between, concordia roughed up sju's two other relievers for five runs in 2.2 combined innings.

concordia came out swing the bats well right away to atone for their shutout in game one. With one out in the first, lippincott drove a double to deep left centerfield and scored when furrow pulled a single down the left field line. A single by junior blake devries (eden prairie, minn.) gave concordia two on with one out but their early rally stalled.

in the bottom of the inning, sju jumped on junior right hander ryan rodeck (lino lakes, minn.) with six of the first seven batters reaching base as they scored four runs in the first.

they added three more in the second, all unearned and rodeck left his first start of the season early with runners on first and third with two outs and seven runs (four earned) against him.

freshman left hander patrick rydeen (stillwater, minn.) came out of the bullpen and struck out his only batter of the inning to strand two on.

the johnnies scored one off rydeen in the third but overall he was effective in his 1.1 innings with two strikeouts, but the two hits were back-to-back with two outs to score the run.

down 8-1, concordia went to work in the fourth, with lippincott leading off with a walk before furrow belted the two run homer to left center.

sju got another run in the fourth, going ahead 9-3 against cu's third pitcher, sophomore left hander ty hall (spring lake park, minn.).

in the fifth, concordia got another run back on an rbi fielder's choice ground out by lippincott but left runners on first and second. In the bottom of the inning, head coach mark "lunch" mckenzie got creative, moving his centerfielder, zach goodwin, to the mound. The switch required manuevering and since his club possesses versatility, hall was moved to centerfield, furrow to third, devries to first and freshman hogan jackson (oakdale, minn.) was removed from third.

the lineup flexibility is already becoming a staple of the 2010 golden bears, and is something to watch for as the season progresses.

with goodwin on the mound, he was impressive in his debut with two shutout innings, striking out one while allowing a hit in each inning.

but the golden bear rally fell just short of producing goodwin's first career victory as cu dropped a one run game for the fourth time this year, their sixth one run decision in seven complete games.

furrow's 4-4 performance was concordia's offensive highlight, while stockton was 2-5 with a seventh inning rbi single to right. Stockton lifted his average to .333 while furrow climbed to .400. Lippincott was 1-4 with his second double, but also walked, scored two runs, drove in one and is hitting .385 for a productive top of the order.

making his first start in the field in right, sophomore ben lemke (rosemount, minn.) went 2-4 with two hard hit singles to left center and scored a pair of runs. Sophomore catcher sam fagely (mahtomedi, minn.) went 1-3 with his second double, scoring two runs with a walk and an rbi.

concorida had 11 hits in the game in 33 team at bats but stranded nine runners on including three in scoring position. On the other side, sju stranded 11 base runners in one less inning of at bats. The johnnies were led by henkemeyer's 3-5 performance, scoring three more runs with a double. In the two games, he hit 6-9 with six runs and a double. Zimmerman and michael carr each drove in a pair.

the golden bears hope to wipe the slate clean tomorrow for a doubleheader against kansas wesleyan, a strong naia program. The games start at 12:15 p.m. At metrodome.