minneapolis, minn. - the concordia university baseball team (8-15) used a 4-run 6th inning in the second game of their doubleheader against wisconsin-la crosse (2-4) to snap a 7-game losing streak tonight at metrodome. The golden bears lost the first game 5-4 before capturing a 5-2 win in the second game. The 1-run loss in the first game was the 6th time during the 7-game skid that concordia had lost by 2-runs or less. Both games being decided by 4-runs or less means concordia has had 20 of 23 games this season decided by the narrow margin (4 or less) including 12 games decided by a run. game 1 box - game 2 box

sophomore right hander ben lemke (rosemount, minn.) was the star of game 2, hurling a complete game on just 89 pitches, allowing two runs on six hits with six strikeouts while not walking anyone. He also went 1-4 with an rbi double and a run at the plate, driving in a run during the big 4-run 6th inning that vaulted him to his 2nd win of the season as he improved to 2-3.

game 1: uw-la crosse 5, cu 4
in game one, junior left fielder blake devries (eden prairie, minn.) smoked a 2-run homer to left field in the 5th inning to cut a 4-0 deficit in half. It was his 5th home run of the season and concordia plated two more runs in the 6th inning thanks to the aide of the teflon baseball-colored roof that allowed sophomore bryan lippincott (des moines, iowa) to reach with a metrodome double with one out. He scored on senior brenden furrow’s (johnston, iowa) rbi groundout. Freshman j.t. Schneider (oak creek, wis.) singled and stole 2nd base in the inning and scored when freshman zach goodwin (mahtomedi, minn.) reached on a two base throwing error by uwl’s shortstop.

after the four run rally in a span of two innings, concordia successfully knotted the score at 4-4. But in the top of the 7th, the eagles rallied for a run, getting a two-out rbi single up the middle to go-ahead. Concordia went down in order in the bottom of the inning and fell short.

redshirt freshman right hander andy fagely (mahtomedi, minn.) started for concordia and went five innings allowing just one earned run (four total runs) on five hits while striking out four and walking two. He was relieved by freshman left hander griff kilber (chanhassen, minn.) who was strong on the mound, striking out four but surrendering the game winning run in the 7th inning. He took the loss and falls to 0-2 in his young career despite the strong performance.

it was an all too familiar and unsettling start to the game as concordia fell behind 4-0 after four innings. After three innings, concordia had stranded eight runners on base, leaving the bases loaded in the 2nd and 3rd innings while leaving 1st and 2nd in the 1st inning. They would leave 10 on base for the game while uw-la crosse only left five runners on.

schneider went 2-4 with a pair of stolen bases in the game as he swiped the first seven bases of his career successfully without being caught. Lippincott’s dome-aided double gives him a team-high 11 on the season and he also walked in the game.

game 2: cu 5, uw-la crosse 2
in the second game, lemke came out poised and attacked the eagle batters, mowing down 11 of the first 12 batters he faced without allowing a hit or walk with his only blemish being a hit by pitch. He struck out five of those first 11 outs before he finally surrendered a base hit to right center to break up his no-hit bid with two outs in the 4th inning.

it was especially noteworthy since concordia’s struggles this season have happened early in games, with the run totals in the first three innings going decidedly in the opponents favor, as happened in the first game.

but in the top of the 3rd inning, furrow delivered an rbi single to right field, scoring sophomore troy dubay (urbandale, iowa) to give concordia a 1-0 lead after three.

uwl took the lead in the 5th inning when they scored a pair of runs off lemke with four straight hits (two singles, two doubles) but a strong throw from left fielder devries cut down a run at home to help bring the rally to an early end, keeping concordia just a run behind, 2-1.

in the 6th inning, concordia rallied as the eagles used three pitchers. Cu chased starter levi adank from the contest with runners on 1st and 3rd after a lemke rbi double and an intentional walk to junior sam fagely (mahtomedi, minn.). Reliever andrew walczak didn’t fare any better. With runners on 1st and 3rd with one out, junior jon stockton (oakdale, minn.) dropped down a perfectly placed bunt in front of the plate with lemke streaking home. Lemke scored while walczak misfired his throw to first base. Fagely scored from first while stockton jogged into 2nd with a two base error and an rbi suicide squeeze bunt. Freshman hogan jackson (oakdale, minn.) followed with an rbi single on a liner to centerfield for the fourth run of the inning, his second career rbi.

lemke retired six of the final seven batters the rest of the way in efficient form, getting four groundouts, a fly out and a pop out.

jackson went 2-3 in the game while playing strong defense at the hot corner. Concordia still stranded eight runners in the game, but were able to execute in the clutch late in the game for the comeback win.

concordia will play a third straight non-conference doubleheader on tuesday, march 30 at minnesota duluth in a pair of 7-inning tilts against the bulldogs. They return home for a four game series against wayne state on april 1-2 at barnes field for nsic games in a 9/7 inning doubleheader format each day.