MINNETONKA, Minn. – The Concordia Golden Bears baseball team (11-3, 4-0 NSIC) completed the weekend sweep with two more shutouts against Minnesota Crookston (10-9, 0-4 NSIC) on Sunday afternoon, highlighted by
Josh Gaworski's game one no-hitter. CSP took game one 15-0 and game two 2-0.
Exactly one year to the day after
Gus Varland threw a no-hitter at Veterans Field,
Josh Gaworski repeated the act with the second in the DII-era for Concordia. Gaworski overpowered the Golden Eagles in game one as he struck out 14 of the 24 batters he faced. He picked up right where he left off as he lowered his ERA to 0.75 and his opponent batting average to .053 through his first two starts as a Golden Bear.
It wasn't just Gaworski that shut down UMC as
Louie Varland and
Riley Sweeney combined for the team's sixth consecutive shutout in game two. Varland scattered five hits over 7.0 innings to extend his own personal scoreless run to 12.0 innings to start the year while Sweeney grabbed his fourth save with two dominant innings in relief.
As a staff during their six-game shutout streak, Concordia has incredibly allowed just 17 hits, 16 of which singles, over 46.0 innings while striking out a massive 74 hitters. The result has been a .112 opponent batting average, .211 opponent on-base percentage and a .118 opponent slugging percentage during the stretch.
In addition to the on-going streak of dominance on the mound, the Golden Bears continued their dominance of Minnesota Crookston as they extended their winning streak to 43 against the Golden Eagles. The streak dates back all the way to 2003 as CSP moves to 46-6 against UMC all-time.
Offensively, a day after being held to just two runs in 16.0 innings, CSP put up 17 runs on 24 hits in the doubleheader.
Carter Schmidt had a solid day as the plate with six hits in eight trips while
Drew Sannes added five hits and four RBIs as well.
Ryan Christopher made the best of his first career at-bats for the Golden Bears as he went 4-5 with a hit by pitch and three driven in, including the go-ahead run in game two, on the day.
GAME ONE: Concordia-St. Paul 15, Minnesota Crookston 0
While the offense exploded for a season-best 15 runs, it was Gaworski (2-0) that stole the show. The junior right-hander was in complete control from the first pitch of the contest as he consistently attacked the UMC lineup to compile quick innings throughout. Just three hitters reached base as Gaworski walked two and had another reach on an error while he retired 14 via the strikeout.
Connor Olson highlighted the offensive output for CSP as he went deep twice while scoring three times and driving in four. Olson now has as team-best three homers on the season.
Olson was not the only one to finish with four runs driven in as
Drew Sannes went 4-5 with a double and four RBIs to continue his early season tear.
Carter Schmidt chipped in three hits in five trips while
Ryan Christopher added a pair of hits and a pair of RBIs off the bench as well.
UMC starter Jayden Grover (1-2) lasted just 1.2 innings before getting the hook as he allowed five runs on seven hits before making way. Three Golden Eagle relievers combined to finish out the game.
Gaworski got off to a bit of a pedestrian start in the opening frame with a walk and just one strikeout, but he picked it up from there. In the second and third innings, he struck out two in each inning as he worked 1-2-3 innings in each. His streak of nine consecutive outs was snapped with a two-out walk in the fourth before picking up his seventh strikeout to end the inning. After allowing a runner to reach on an error with one out in the fifth, Gaworski really turned it on from there. He struck out the next two to end the inning before striking out five of six over the final two innings to finish off the no-no with a flurry.
At the dish, Olson set the tone from the start with a solo homer on the second pitch he saw to put Concordia on top 1-0.
Connor Trygstad and Schmidt added to the lead with one-out RBI singles in the second before Sannes tacked on with two more to with another run-scoring single to make it 5-0 after two. Olson was at it again in the third with a three-run blast to break it open early.
After a scoreless fourth, the Golden Bears took advantage of a two-out error to add more to their lead. After the error, CSP scored six times to push the lead to 14 before adding one more in the sixth to bring it to the final mark of 15-0.
GAME TWO: Concordia-St. Paul 2, Minnesota Crookston 0
Louie Varland (2-0) continued the incredible run for Concordia's pitching staff as he delivered the sixth consecutive start of five or more innings pitched with five or fewer hits and no runs allowed. The sophomore worked 7.0 innings of five-hit ball while walking just one and striking out eight to pick up his second win in as many starts on the year.
Riley Sweeney continued his lights-out stretch out of the bullpen as he struck out four of the six batters he faced to pick up his fourth save of the season. Over his last three appearances, he has allowed just one hit and struck out 10 in 4.2 innings.
Carter Schmidt reached safely in all four trips with three singles and a walk while
Ryan Christopher made it back-to-back multi-hit games to start his Concordia career as he went 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Justin Yutrzenka (1-1) was the tough-luck loser for the Golden Eagles as he gave up a lone run in six innings before giving way to the bullpen in the loss.
It was zeroes both ways until CSP opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. With two outs and nobody on,
Patrick Bordewick walked and
Ben Suits singled to put runners on first and second to bring up Christopher. The freshman laced a single up the middle to bring home Bordewick to put the Golden Bears out front 1-0.
Varland didn't have a single 1-2-3 inning on the day, but consistently limited the damage and kept Minnesota Crookston out of scoring position to maintain the slim advantage.
That 1-0 advantage held until the Golden Bears grabbed an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. UMC reliever Zach Seipel entered the game and promptly allowed a single and walked two of the next three to load the bases with one out.
Isaac Hormann stepped up to the plate and coaxed a third walk in the inning to allow Christopher to score what proved to be the final run of the day.
Riley Sweeney then came on and worked a quick 1-2-3 inning in the eighth before finishing off the series in fitting fashion by striking out the side in the ninth.
The Golden Bears are scheduled to play at home again next weekend with St. Cloud State coming to town. Check back to cspbears.com for schedule updates or any potential changes throughout the week.
