LIPPINCOTT POWERS GOLDEN BEAR SPLIT WITH GO-AHEAD GRAND SLAM
Apr. 17–
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Two of the more potent Division II lineups met at one of the more hitter-friendly parks in the league and predictably came away with a high scoring split on Tuesday afternoon at Barnes Field. Concordia University (19-13, 10-8 NSIC) dropped the first game 6-5 in extra innings (8) before a fifth inning grand slam by senior Bryan Lippincott (Des Moines, Iowa) lifted the Golden Bears to a 12-9 win in game two over Winona State (19-14, 14-8). In the doubleheader, Lippincott went 5-for-7 with two homers and five RBI to increase his NCAA-best average to .555. BOX SCORES: Game 1 | Game 2

Lippincott entered the day hitting .544 with a .634 on base percentage and .951 slugging percentage. Inexplicably, he was able to drive his numbers higher across the board with the two homer day and was also hit by pitch twice. He now stands at .555/.643/.991. The two homers give him eight on the season, one shy of the league leader, Winona State's Nate Van Roekel who did not go deep in the doubleheader.

In the two games, the teams combined for 46 hits as Concordia out-hit Winona State 12-to-11 in each game. Each team hit one homer in the first game with Winona State hitting three in game two to Concordia's two. In all, the ball left the field seven times on the day with Lippincott and Winona State's Cody Strang each homering twice in the doubleheader. Strang hit both of his in the game two loss.

Game 1: Winona State 6, CU 5 (8-inn)
The Golden Bears jumped out to the early lead in the first inning when Lippincott launched his seventh homer of the season to dead center field with two outs. After the Warriors tied the game in the second, Concordia answered with a 3-run third inning - all with two outs.

A two-run double by Van Roekel in the fourth inning pulled Winona State within a run but he was thrown out trying to stretch his double into a triple, with right fielder Paul Giel (Minnetonka, Minn.) connecting with cut-off man Kyle Dalton (Minnetonka, Minn.) who drilled a strike to Lippincott at third for the final out of the inning.

Concordia picked up another two-out run in the bottom of the fifth for a 5-3 lead but sophomore Elliot Powell (Minnetonka, Minn.) was thrown out at home as Giel was caught in a run down between first and second after driving in the run with a single to right. Powell getting thrown out ended the inning for Concordia.

Giel went 3-for-4 with a double, run and RBI.

The Warriors pulled within a run with a two-out RBI hit by Van Roekel in the sixth inning but left the tying run on third base.

In the seventh, Concordia turned to the bullpen to preserve senior right hander Ben Lemke's (Rosemount, Minn.) lead. Lemke went 6.0, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out six and did not factor into the decision.

He was relieved by junior left hander Griff Kilber (Chanhassen, Minn.), who allowed a game-tying solo home run to Adam Gemuenden in the seventh. In the eighth, the Warriors were able to scratch off an unearned run as the Golden Bears committed two of their six errors in the top of the eighth, with the go-ahead run scoring with two outs.

Kilber took the tough loss, falling to 1-1 as Lippincott hit a deep flyout to end the game.

Game 2: CU 12, Winona State 9
Winona State struck first in the second game, getting a 2-run homer by Strang in the first inning. In the second, Concordia hit back with a 4-run frame with a 2-run double by junior Greg Larpenter (Urbandale, Iowa) and RBI singles by Drew Turk (Plainfield, Ill.) and Logan Bouts (Hopkins, Minn.).

The Warrior tied the score up at 4-4 in the third and the teams traded runs until the bottom of the fifth inning. With a 6-6 tie, the bases loaded and two outs, Lippincott stepped up to the plate. He quickly worked himself into a hitters count, 2-0, but fouled off the next two pitches to even the count. With the count even at 2-2, Lippincott hit a deep homer to right center with the Concordia dugout erupting on contact.

The 4-run lead allowed Concordia to turn to their bullpen as junior right hander Andy Fagely (Mahtomedi, Minn.) was in line for the win after surviving 5.0 innings against the potent Warrior lineup.

Freshman right hander Nicho Roessler (St. Anthony, Minn.) came in and finished the game off. Despite allowing a 2-run homer to Strang in the sixth inning, Roessler closed the door on the Warriors in the seventh with Van Roekel, the league's leading home run hitter, flying out to end the game as the game's tying run.

The Golden Bears' two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth combined with highlight reel catches by Giel in right, and Larpenter in center, helped Roessler finish things off.

Fagely improved to 6-2 on the year, striking out three and uncharacteristically walking four and hitting a batter.

Lippincott went 3-for-4 in the second game with his four RBI coming on the one swing. Batting in front of him, Larpenter in the leadoff spot went 2-for-4 with three RBI and his 14th double. In the second spot, Turk went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI.

Dalton had a pair of 2-hit performances batting in the sixth and seventh spots in the two games while senior Troy DuBay (Urbandale, Iowa) scored three runs while going 1-for-2 with two walks in game two.

Concordia has now split with their last five opponents and have not lost a series since NSIC opening weekend.

This weekend, they'll face #15 St. Cloud State (25-10, 10-6 NSIC) in a home/home 4-game series. Saturday's games will be played in St. Cloud with Sunday's games at Barnes Field representing senior day.