TUCSON, Ariz. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (3-1) opened their trip to the Tucson Invitational Games on a high note with a 7-2 win over Southwest Minnesota State (2-4) and a 6-5 win over St. Cloud State (6-5) at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night.
 
While CSP's starting pitchers continued to make things tough on their opponents, the offense really came to life in the thin air of Arizona. The team finished the day 24-69 (.348) with seven extra-base hits while holding the opposition to 20-73 (.274) with just three extra-base hits.
 
Connor Trygstad stayed scorching hot with a pair of two-hit games to move his average to .583 (7-12) with a pair of home runs and a double through four contests. Patrick Bordewick was even better as he picked up five hit in seven at-bats with two doubles on the day to match Trygstad's .583 average (7-12) on the year. Drew Sannes chipped in four hits of his own to up his average to .364 as well.
 
On the mound, Louie Varland and Josh Gaworski each picked up wins as the two starters combined to allow just one run in a combined 10.0 innings on the day. Concordia's starting staff has now put together a 1.95 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 23.0 innings through four games.
 
GAME ONE: Concordia-St. Paul 7, Southwest Minnesota State 2
Concordia did their damage early with six runs in the second and another in the fourth as they cruised to a comfortable win in their first contest in Arizona.
 
It was a balanced attack offensively for CSP as seven of the nine starters both registered a hit and scored a run in the win. Connor Trystad stayed red hot by going 2-3 with a walk and a run scored. Patrick Bordewick matched that output exactly while Carter Schmidt also grabbed a pair of hits, including a double, while scoring once and driving another in. Connor Olson was the lone CSP hitter to drive in more than one run as he brought in a pair with a double.
 
Making his first career start for the Golden Bears, Louie Varland (1-0) worked his way out of trouble in nearly every inning as he held SMSU off the board for five innings to pick up the win. The sophomore right-hander scattered six hits and three walks while striking out seven in his 5.0 innings of work.
 
Riley Sweeney took it from there as he worked the final 4.0 frames to grab the save. Sweeney allowed a pair of runs on five hits to go along with five strikeouts in relief.
 
Wes Sarsland (0-1) got the start for the Mustangs but was unable to get out of the second innings as Concordia tagged him for six runs on six hits in 1.0+ innings in the loss.
 
The Golden Bears broke the game open early as they ambushed Sarsland in the bottom of the second inning. Trygstad, Roch Whittaker and Bordewick delivered back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases before Mickey Leius and Drew Sannes added their own singles to bring home the game's first two runs with five consecutive hits. After an errant pick-off attempt allowed another run to score, Olson roped a double down the left field line to drive in two more to make it six hits in a row. That would be all for Sarsland as Alex Jorgensen came in and promptly struck out the first two hitters he faced. He wasn't able to stop the bleeding completely, however, as Carter Schmidt extended the lead to 6-0 with a line drive double to left center to score Olson.
 
CSP was back at it in the fourth as Schmidt and Trygstad were once again in the middle of the action. Schmidt lined a sharp single to left and Trygstad converted a perfect hit-and-run with an opposite field single to put runners on the corners with one out. Two pitches later, a wild pitch allowed Schmidt to cross the plate to make it 7-0.
 
Varland went back out for the fifth as he worked out of a jam one more time to secure the requisite five innings of work to claim the victory.
 
The score held until the top of the seventh when the Mustangs spoiled the shutout bid. A leadoff infield single on a slow roller to short followed by a hit batter with one down set the stage for a Connor Johnson double down the left field line to bring in a run. Spencer Rudnik lined a single to right to cut the SMSU deficit to five at 7-2, but Sweeney recovered and limited the damage to hold it there.
 
Sweeney settled in and worked a scoreless eighth and ninth to close out the 7-2 win.
 
GAME TWO: Concordia-St. Paul 6, St. Cloud State 5
Concordia followed the same recipe in the second game of the day as they jumped out to an early lead before holding off their opponent to claim the win. CSP took a 6-1 lead through five innings before seeing the Huskies grab two runs in both the seventh and eighth to turn up the heat, but the Golden Bears maintained their edge to pick up a 6-5 victory.
 
The Golden Bear offense hammered out 14 hits in the win as four different players registered multi-hit games. Patrick Bordewick and Drew Sannes each hit safely in three of their four trips to the plate with an RBI apiece to lead the way while Connor Trygstad continued to be an offensive force with his second homer of the season to go along with another single in the game. Ben Suits also collected two hits, including a double, in his first start of the season.

Josh Gaworski (1-0) gave CSP another solid start as he worked 5.0 innings, allowing just a pair of hits and a run, while striking out five to grab his first win as a Golden Bear. Nate Stolte and Keanu Mendez each worked out of the bullpen before Shane Benson finished off the game by picking up the final five outs to earn the save.
 
Both starters carved through the order the first time through the lineup as Gaworski faced one over the minimum through four innings while Boser faced one over the minimum through three.
 
That all changed in the bottom of the fourth inning when Trygstad crushed the second pitch of the inning off the right field foul pole to put Concordia on the board. After a Hormann single sandwiched between a pair of groundouts, Suits came through with a big two-out double to the right center gap to double the lead. Drew Sannes then deposited a pitch into left field for a single to drive in Suits to make it 3-0.
 
The Huskies answered back in the top of the fifth as Caeden Harris opened the inning with a single before stealing second. Three straight one-out walks, two of which on 3-2 pitches, pushed across the first run to close the gap to 3-1. Gaworski then buckled down to coax two straight fly outs to right to close the door and keep CSP out front.
 
The momentum carried over into the bottom of the inning for Concordia as they got the run back and more. Adam Hildebrandt got things started with a deep shot over the right fielder's head for a triple before Olson lined a single past the shortstop to score him. Trygstad added another liner to the gap for a single before both moved up on a perfect sacrifice bunt off the bat of Schmidt. Hormann delivered a sacrifice fly and Bordewick followed with a solid single to bring in Trygstad to push the margin out to 6-1 through five innings.
 
St. Cloud State set themselves up for a big inning by loading the bases with nobody out in the seventh as they looked to scratch their way back in it. Stolte answered with a big pitch to coax a routine double play to pull one out from getting out of the jam with only one run scoring. Bo Schmitz had other ideas as he lined a single to the gap to bring in another to close the gap back to three. After another single, Stolte picked up a groundout to get out of the inning without any further damage.
 
The gap was further shrunk in the top of the eighth as three straight walks with one out gave the Huskies a golden opportunity. Benson came on to record the second out as Hildebrandt made a tremendous diving play to turn a single into a fielder's choice up the middle, but a run scored on the play. Jordan Joseph sent a hard one-hopper to third base for an infield hit to push another run across as SCSU pulled within a run at 6-5. Benson then picked up a fly out to end the inning.
 
Benson went back out for the ninth and took care of business as he worked around a two-out single to finish off the 6-5 win and sweep of the day.
 
Concordia will play two more nine-inning contests tomorrow as they take on Dakota Wesleyan at 4 p.m. and Valley City State at 8 p.m. at the Kino Sports Complex.