MINNETONKA, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul (4-6, 2-0 NSIC) opened conference play with 12-2 and 6-2 wins over Minnesota Crookston (6-11, 0-2 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at Veterans Field on a cloudy and cool afternoon.

The Golden Bears received six inning, two earned run outings from each starting pitcher as the starting staff has now posted three consecutive such outings.

Junior shortstop Eric Fasnacht continued to hit for power, going 4-6 with a 3-run homer in the first game, 2-run double in the second game and six total RBI. He has three homers and three doubles since Monday and has multiple hits in five straight and six times out of eight games on the season.

The teams are scheduled to complete the 4-game series tomorrow with a noon start. Weather conditions could play a factor, with any necessary scheduled updates provided on Twitter and on the athletics website.

GAME 1: Concordia 12, UM Crookston 2
Junior left handed starting pitcher Zach Rengel was untouchable early, striking out seven of the first eight hitters he faced, carrying a shutout into the fifth inning of the 7-inning series opener.

He picked up the win, allowing two runs over six innings for to even his record at 1-1. He struck out 10, didn't issue a walk and allowed only four hits.

Concordia supported him early offensively, scoring a run in the first but leaving runners on second and third base.

In the second, Concordia exploded for seven runs, sending 11 batters to the plate and delivering seven hits. Trevon Bargfrede went 2-2 with a 2-run single in his second at bat and stole home on the back end of a double steal in his first time through.

In the third inning, shortstop Eric Fasnacht supplied the power and put the game away with a 3-run homer down the left field line to cap a 4-run inning for a 12-0 lead after three.

It was his third home run of the year as he went 2-3 with four RBI to extend his team lead in RBI to 15 through the first nine games.

UMC's bullpen was effective in relief of starter Richie Navratil, allowing just a run over 3.1 innings. Navratil fell to 0-2, taking the loss in 2.2 innings.

Hunter Lindstrom finished the game in the seventh for Concordia in the non-save situation to preserve the 10-run lead.

Tyler Krekling went 3-4 with three runs and Connor Olson went 3-3 with two runs, two RBI and his fifth double of the year. Concordia 2-thru-5 hitters all had multi-hit games.

As a team, Concordia was 10-15 in RBI opportunities with Olson converting 3-3 and Fasnacht 2-2 from the 4-5 spots in the order. The Golden Bears were also 10-17 with two outs including nine two out RBI in the contest while UMC was 2-9 with two outs.

Concordia had five extra base hits as Ryan Poppitz had a triple to join Fasnacht's home run, with doubles by Krekling, Olson and Andrew Shotwell.

GAME 2: Concordia 6, UM Crookston 2
Right handed starter Cody Schacht was solid throughout, although UMC was able to put together a pair of rallies. He allowed a run on four consecutive UMC singles in the second inning as UMC took the game's first lead before Eric Fasnacht's 2-run double powered a 4-run third inning. The Golden Eagles added three consecutive two out singles in the sixth to score another run off Schacht, but wouldn't come any closer.

Those seven singles were the only hits Schacht allowed, and he didn't issue a walk in six innings of work, striking out five. At one point, he retired nine straight from the third to the sixth inning before the two out rally in the sixth.

He left with a 5-2 lead after Concordia matched UMC's run in the bottom of the sixth as Fasnacht was hit by pitch and came in to score on a two out fielding error.

Junior right handed reliever Yuji Suzuki came in for the seventh inning, retiring the Golden Eagles in order on six pitches. He faced just 10 batters, allowing one hit in three shutout innings to pick up his second save on just 32 total pitches.

Schacht and Suzuki combined to retire all nine of UMC's leadoff hitters.

Concordia extended the lead to 6-2 for Suzuki in the bottom of the seventh inning as Kyle Dalton led off with a bunt single and dashed to second on a throwing error. He stole third easily as UMC's infield charged a bunt attempt, and he scored after getting in a run down between third and home, with a high throw misplayed in left field.

Dalton went 2-4, scoring twice while picking up his third steal of the year from the leadoff spot. Alex LaPorte added a 2-3 performance from the bottom of the order and Trevon Bargfrede continued to swing a strong bat with his second double.

Jarad Nelson took the loss for UMC, falling to 2-1 despite pitching into the eighth inning (7.2), allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts and no walks.