SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (7-2) used a pair of strong starts and timely hitting to pick up two one-run wins over Augustana (6-5) on Sunday afternoon at Ronken Field. The Golden Bears took the opener 2-1 before claiming a 4-3 win in game two.

CSP gained the decisive lead in the first inning of the first game before grabbing two runs in the ninth in game two to complete the sweep.
 
GAME 1: Concordia 2, Augustana 1
Senior Kody Knaus (2-0) got the Golden Bears in the win column with a dominant outing as he silenced the Augustana offense in the complete game victory. The left-hander didn't allow a single earned run (one unearned) in his seven innings of work as he allowed five hits and struck out seven.
 
The Golden Bears wasted little time getting on the board as Connor Olson led off the game with a double to the gap in left center before Eric Fasnacht drove him home with a double of his own to center. Fasnacht later came around to score after advancing to third on an error and scoring on a first and third double steal with two down to make it 2-0.
 
That would be more than enough support for Knaus as he held the Vikings to just a lone run in the third, blanking them the rest of the way.
 
After the first eight Augustana hitters were retired in order, Carter Wevik delivered a single to right center to get the offense going. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Wevik came around to score on an inning-extending error to cut the CSP lead to 2-1.
 
Both Knaus and Augie starter Ryne Lees matched zeroes from there as both teams threatened down the stretch, but neither team was able to push a run across.
 
The best threat for the Golden Bears came in the fourth as Ryan Poppitz reached with a one out single, Isaac Horman drew a walk before Connor Olson reached on an error to load the bases with two down, but Lees was able to coax a pop up in foul territory to strand the bases loaded.
 
The Vikings put up a rally of their own in the sixth as Alex Fink and Patrick Fiala both singled before moving into scoring position with a double steal, but Knaus kept Concordia out fron as T.J. Davis lined out to end the inning.
 
Augustana put another runner in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh as Jacob James singled with one down and moved to second with a groundout before Knaus finished off his gem with his seventh strikeout of the afternoon.
 
Freshman Isaac Hormann finished as the only Golden Bear with more than a hit as he collected two singles.
 
GAME 2: Concordia 4, Augustana 3
Offense was hard to come by again in the second game as Concordia scored two in the ninth to break a 2-2 tie before holding off the Vikings and claiming the sweep of the day.
 
Senior Alex LaPorte came through in the clutch as he delivered a bases-loaded single to bring home a pair of runs and give CSP the decisive advantage. Andrew Shotwell added his first home run of the season and Ben Suits launched his first career homer to round out the scoring for the Golden Bears.
 
Despite picking up a no-decision, Kevin Woebke was excellent on the mound for Concordia as he allowed just four hits and two runs while striking out nine in seven innings.
 
Keanu Mendez (2-0) came in to work a scoreless eighth to pick up the win while Yuji Suzuki worked out of trouble in the ninth to claim his second save of the season.
 
Concordia once again struck first as Andrew Shotwell went deep in the first to put CSP on top 1-0.
 
The Vikings took their first lead of the day in the bottom of the third as Patrick O'Donnell doubled and Justin Warne singled before coming around to score as Augie took a 2-1 lead.
 
That lead didn't last long as Ben Suits hit one over the wall in right the next half inning to even it up at 2-2.
 
Both pitchers settled in from there as neither team put up much for major threats until the ninth as the score remained tied.
 
Concordia finally broke through in the final inning of the weekend as Shotwell singled with one down before Eric Fasnacht reached on an error and Suits reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases. LaPorte then stepped up and drove in two with a single to right to chase starter Colton Vien. Reliever Collin Lovell came in and collected the final two outs to keep it at 4-2 heading to the bottom of the inning.
 
The Vikings made things interesting in their half as a pair of one-out singles followed by an error that allowed a run to score. Suzuki buckled down to close out the save and finish off the 4-3 win.
 
The Golden Bears are back in action in Fayette, Iowa next weekend as they take on Upper Iowa in non-conference play.