MINNETONKA, Minn. – The Concordia Golden Bears baseball team (6-7, 2-6 NSIC) was swept by Northern State (5-5, 4-2 NSIC) in three games on Sunday at Veterans Field. The Wolves took game one 5-3, game two 1-0 and game three 3-0.
 
GAME ONE: Northern State 5, Concordia-St. Paul 3
17 hours and eight minutes after the first pitch of the first game of the series, the two teams resumed play on Sunday morning. It was the Wolves that struck first with two runs in the third before Concordia came storming back with three in the fourth. That lead would not last, however, as NSU gained the decisive advantage with three in the sixth to claim a 5-3 win.
 
Griffin Lapp pitched well in a no-decision as he allowed just two runs on four hits in 4.2 innings while striking out three and walking two. Connor Hurley (0-1) took the loss in relief as he worked a third of an inning before TJ Johnson delivered 2.0 shutout innings with a strikeout.
 
Jarod Wandersee collected two of the team's four hits, including an RBI double, while scoring a run as well. Patrick Bordewick added a hit, a walk and a run scored while Ryan Christopher added a single.
 
The Wolves threatened in the first and CSP threatened in the second before NSU opened the scoring in the third. It was Reece Ragatz that came through in the clutch with a two-run triple into the right center gap to make it 2-0.
 
One inning later, the Golden Bears flipped the script as they hung three on the board to take the lead. Concordia need just one hit to score three times in the frame as they found a way to manufacture some runs. After a leadoff walk to Bordewick and a Shea Pekarek hit by pitch, Jarod Wandersee opened the scoring for CSP with a double into the left field corner. Ryan Bastyr followed with a game-tying RBI groundout before Nick Thimsen came off the bench to give the Golden Bears a 3-2 edge with a sacrifice fly.
 
The lead held until the sixth when a pair of bench players came up big for NSU. Nike Pezonella led off the frame with a pinch-hit double before Ramon Vega, Jr. tied the game with a pinch-hit double of his own. Vega eventually came around to score on a double steal with runners on first and third before Ben Carolin tacked on an insurance run with a run-scoring groundour later in the inning.
 
The Golden Bears were retired in order in the sixth and the seventh as Northern State held on for the victory.
 
GAME TWO: Northern State 1, Concordia-St. Paul 0
Offense proved to be hard to come by in the second game of the day as the two teams combined for just a single run on nine hits in seven innings of action. The Wolves broke the scoreless tie with a run in the fifth and that proved to be all they needed as they grabbed a second win.
 
Senior Luke DeGrammont (1-2) made life difficult for the NSU hitters as he scattered five hits over 6.0 innings of one-run ball in a tough luck loss. He struck out one and walked one in the outing. Jonah Lewis struck out three of the four hitters he faced in a scoreless seventh.
 
Northern State starter Seth Brewer (2-0) was also extremely effective as he allowed just two hits and three walks while striking out five in 5.0 shutout innings for the win. Mike Stubbs came on in relief to deliver 2.0 shutout innings with a pair of strikeouts to pick up the save.
 
Ryan Bastyr finished with two hits in the game while Nick Thimsen also reached twice with a pair of walks. Justin McGuigan added a pinch-hit single to round out the offense.
 
The first 11 hitters were retired in order to start the game before Shea Pekarek drew a two-out walk. Bastyr followed with a solid single to right to put two on with two down, but Brewer coaxed a groundout to get out of the jam.
 
The Wolves put up their first threat in the fourth as they loaded the bases with a pair of singles and an error with two outs before DeGrammont worked out of trouble with a groundout of his own.
 
Back-to-back doubles in the fifth put NSU in front as Ramon Vega, Jr. followed up Paulson with the go-ahead hit.
 
Concordia had runners in scoring position in both the fifth and seventh innings, including loading the bases with one out in the fifth, but they were unable to pick up the big hit to tie the game or take the lead as the Wolves claimed the 1-0 victory.
 
GAME THREE: Northern State 3, Concordia-St. Paul 0
In the final game of the day, NSU starter Zach Hrvol (1-2) came within four outs of a no-hitter as he threw a one-hit complete game shutout, allowing just two over the minimum in the win.
 
Michael Voss nearly matched him pitch-for-pitch in a game that took just 1:17 to complete. Voss (0-1) allowed no earned runs on four hits in 6.0 innings, striking out a pair. Ryan Fering added a 1-2-3 seventh.
 
Nick Thimsen broke up the no-no with a double in the sixth while Matt Pietsch was hit by a pitch in the fourth.
 
Seven of the first 10 half innings of the game went 1-2-3 as the game cruised into the sixth inning in under an hour. With two outs and nobody on in the top half of the sixth, Justin Hutter reached on an error before Reece Ragatz singled to bring Ramon Vega, Jr. to the plate. The NSU right fielder continued his strong day at the plate as he launched a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall to give the Wolves a 3-0 advantage.
 
Thimsen picked up the team's lone hit in the bottom of the sixth, but CSP was unable to push him across the plate as Hrvol retired the final four in a row to complete the shutout.
 
The Golden Bears are back in action on Tuesday as they take on St. Cloud State at home. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.