DULUTH, Minn. - The Concordia University baseball team (21-21, 12-16 NSIC) used a 5-run sixth inning to take a 5-4 lead late in the game but Minnesota Duluth (20-25, 13-18) rallied for two runs in the bottom of the inning and held on for a 6-5 game one win over Concordia on Wednesday afternoon. In game two at Bulldog Park, the Golden Bears never trailed en route to a 14-5 victory to pick up the split.
The Golden Bears have now split with six of their Northern Sun opponents in conference play this season. They've also had a four-game road sweep but have dropped two other match-ups to put the four games under .500 with four games to play.
Concordia closes out the season this weekend with a 4-game road series at Wayne State. The Golden Bears are still very much in the mix for the sixth and final spot in the NSIC Tournament, with 3 or 4 wins likely necessary depending on how teams around the league perform.
Game 1: UMD 6, Concordia 5
It was a hard way to start the season's final week as the Golden Bears need a big result down the stretch to qualify for the NSIC Tournament's top six spots.
Senior right hander Ben Lemke (Rosemount, Minn.) battled, allowing four earned over five innings with nine strikeouts. He left with the lead but did not factor into the decision, allowing a run each in the first and second innings and two more in the fifth.
Lemke made his 37th career start, tying the school record with Greg Freutel (1990-93) and Jake Schmidt (2006-09). His five innings pushed his career total to 193.2, moving into fifth all-time ahead of Nick Anderson (2008-11, 191.0). He now has 182 strikeouts which is also fifth all-time.
Concordia struggled offensively against UMD starter Colin Stinogel, as he worked 1-2-3 innings in the first, third, fourth and fifth. Concordia had a pair of second inning singles but left a runner on third and senior Troy DuBay (Urbandale, Iowa) was thrown out at second base looking for a double.
But they got to Stinogel in the sixth inning, loading the bases with no outs and trailing 4-0 to force him from the game with the tying run at the plate.
Sophomore Drew Turk (Plainfield, Ill.) delivered a two-run single up the middle and senior Bryan Lippincott (Des Moines, Iowa) was walked with runners on first and third to load the bases. Senior Logan Bouts (Hopkins, Minn.) drew a bases loaded walk and senior Doug Stearns (Minnetonka, Minn.) was retired on a fielder's choice getting an RBI while a second run (Lippincott) scored from second base on an error on the play to take the 5-4 lead.
After UMD delivered a two-out, 2-run double in the bottom of the inning off of freshman right hander Nicho Roessler (St. Anthony, Minn.), the Golden Bears rallied again in the seventh inning.
Sophomore Elliot Powell (Minnetonka, Minn.) reached with a leadoff bunt single down the first base line and advance to scoring position on a wild pitch. With two outs, junior Greg Larpenter (Urbandale, Iowa) reached on an infield single to first base putting the tying run 90-feet away and the go-ahead run on first base. But Turk couldn't replicate his sixth inning success as he went down swinging to end the contest.
Roessler took the loss, his first of the year, allowing two runs in one inning.
Concordia scored three runs in 5.0-plus innings off Stinogel, raising his ERA to 2.61 on the year. Michael Stocke improved to 2-1 with the win out of the bullpen and Tyler Blomberg earned his first save with a scoreless seventh.
Larpenter had Concordia's only 2-hit game, going 2-for-4 as the Golden Bears tallied six hits as a team.
Game 2: Concordia 14, UMD 5
Concordia started strong to avenge for leaving the tying runner on third and go-ahead runner on base in the seventh inning of the first game.
They tallied four straight hits including doubles by Larpenter and Bouts along with a double-steal of home and second by Lippincott and Turk to take a quick 3-0 lead.
Concordia extended the lead to 5-0 with Turk's RBI double to the opposite field in the third inning, advancing to third on the throw home. Turk scored on a Lippincott sacrifice fly.
The two players, who had the double-steal combination to score in the first inning, set the tone for Concordia's offense. Turk went 4-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBI, also drawing a walk while Lippincott didn't record an out, going 3-for-3 with three runs, four RBI and his 10th home run of the season.
The offensive outburst helped junior right hander Andy Fagely (Mahtomedi, Minn.) improve to 7-3 with the victory. Fagely worked 6.0 innings and allowed five runs but just three of which were earned. He struck out three and walked one.
After allowing a run in the third and two in the fourth, UMD had trimmed Concordia's lead to 5-3, the closest margin of the second game.
In the fifth, Concordia's offense went back to work with a 6-run inning keyed by a bases clearing double pulled down the left field line by senior Kris Long (Rochester, Minn.). In that inning, the first seven batters reached on six hits (two doubles) and a walk which blew the game open to an 11-3 score.
In the sixth inning, Lippincott tagged his 10th homer of the year to give the Golden Bears a 10-run inning.
After pitching out of trouble in the sixth inning, Fagely's afternoon ended as he induced an inning-ending groundout to leave Bulldogs on second and third after two runs had scored with two outs.
Junior left hander Griff Kilber (Chanhassen, Minn.) worked the final 3.0 innings for the save. Kilber was not scored on, and struck out two with one walk in his first save of the year.
Of Concordia's 17 hits in the game, they drilled five doubles and a homer while UMD was forced to use six different pitchers.
Bouts went 2-for-6 with two doubles and two RBI. Bouts now has 13 doubles and 45 RBI. Larpenter also slugged a double, giving him 17 for the season which is tied with Lippincott for the team lead.
