ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (19-18, 10-15 NSIC) is back in action this Wednesday as they travel south to Wayne State (30-12, 20-8 NSIC) for an NSIC doubleheader. First pitch in game one is set for 1:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Last Tuesday, Concordia bounced back from an 11-0 game one loss to the Peacocks with two runs in the ninth in game two to claim a split with a 3-2 win.
 
CSP had seven different players collect hits in the doubleheader, led by two hits from senior Isaac Hormann. The Golden Bear pitching staff combined to allow just one earned run over the final 14.0 innings of the day, including none in the game two victory.
 
Josh Gaworski was impressive in a no-decision as he scattered six hits and allowed just an unearned run with four strikeouts in game two. Ray Wellner gave CSP some crucial innings out of the bullpen in game one as he worked 3.1 shutout innings and struck out five while allowing just two hits and two walks.
 
WSC SERIES HISTORY
Concordia heads to Wayne, Nebraska with a record of 14-33 all-time against the Wildcats. Wayne State dominated the series from the first meeting in 2000 all the way up to 2012 with a record of 33-7 during that span. CSP managed to win back-to-back games just once, taking two in a row in 2008, through the first 40 meetings. The Golden Bears have shifted the momentum in recent years as they have won all seven meetings since 2015. Concordia and Wayne State have played at least one game against each other in each of the last five years. In 28 contests in Wayne, CSP has gone 9-19.
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE WILDCATS
Back on March 5 in Tucson, CSP erased a six-run deficit to pull out an incredible 23-15 win over Wayne State.
 
After seeing the Wildcats run out to a 9-3 lead through the first three innings, the Golden Bears exploded for 18 runs over the next three innings to completely turn the tables and blow the game open. The Wildcats battled back to make things a little more interesting in the later innings before CSP finished out the wild win.
 
Amazingly, the 38 combined runs scored outmatched the 36 points scored between the two schools scored on the gridiron back on Sept. 20, 2018 in a 29-7 win for the Golden Bears. That game last three hours and 56 minutes due to a one hour and 29 minute rain delay, making it six minutes longer than the three hour and 50 minute game played on the diamond.
 
The 23 runs scored and 26 hits were the most in a game for CSP since picking up a 23-9 win at Bemidji State on April 19, 2014. The Golden Bears also fell two short of the DII-era record at Concordia for runs in a game set in a 25-4 win back on April 14, 2002 at Minnesota-Morris and again on March 2, 2007 as well as one shy of hits in a game set in the 23-9 win over BSU. It was also a noteworthy game on the other side of things as the 15 runs allowed also tied for most given up in a win in the DII-era at CSP.
 
It really was a team effort at the plate for CSP as 17 different players stepped up to the plate and seven delivered at least three hits in the offensive barrage. Patrick Bordewick led the way with a career-best four-hit day as he finished 4-5 with a walk while driving in four runs and scoring four more.
 
Ryan Christopher matched the RBI output of Bordewick as he also drove in four to bring his season total to a team-best 11 through the first five games of the year. Roch Whittaker continued his impressive run as well by reaching safely five times, going 3-4 with a pair of walks. Carter Schmidt and Drew Sannes also put up big games as both contributed three hits and a walk on the day.
 
Among the numerous memorable stat lines from the victory, perhaps the most impressive was Concordia having two players slug three hits in the game after starting the contest on the bench. Both Eathan Soeffker and Kyle Horstmann came in to pinch hit in the fourth inning and took advantage of the opportunity in a big way. Eathan Soeffker picked up his first career hit with a bases clearing double in the sixth before lacing another double in the seventh and adding a single in the eighth for good measure. Horstmann picked up his first career three-hit game as he finished 3-5 with a double to go along with three runs scored. Soeffker was not the only Golden Bear to collect his first career hit in the game as Jarod Wandersee dropped a hustle double in just out of the reach of the second baseman in the eighth.
 
In what was an otherwise forgettable day for both pitching staffs, Nate Stolte picked up the win in relief with 3.0 quality innings. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits while striking out one in his outing. Shane Benson added a solid performance to close out the game as he retired seven straight, including four by strikeout, after walking the first batter he faced.
 
Alex Logelin headlined a solid offensive outing for the Wildcats with four hits, including three doubles, as seven of WSC's top eight hitters registered multi-hit games.