MAUSTON, Wis. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (6-6) wrapped up non-conference play on a high note as they swept Minnesota Duluth (5-7) at Woodside Sports Complex on Thursday afternoon. The Golden Bears followed up a 7-0 shutout win in game one with a wild 11-10 win in 10 innings in game two.
 
Concordia-St. Paul kicks off the NSIC slate this weekend as they host Bemidji State in a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday with the three-game series being played at Veterans Field at Minnetonka High School.
 
GAME ONE: Concordia-St. Paul 7, Minnesota Duluth 0
CSP starter Reece Piontek got all the help he needed in the opening frame as the Golden Bears hung four on the board in the first before tacking on three in the fourth to secure the shutout win.
 
Piontek (1-0) claimed his first career win and first career shutout as he allowed just three hits in the complete game shutout. The freshman left-hander needed just 86 pitches to complete 7.0 scoreless frames, facing just three over the minimum, picking off three runners, while striking out a pair.
 
On the offensive side, Chandler Ibach and Jaden Werner delivered the big blows as Ibach launched his team-leading fourth homer of the season, a three-run shot in the first, while Werner made it three home runs in three games with a two-run blast in the fourth. Ibach finished the day 2-4 while Werner reached safely three times with a walk and a hit by pitch to go along with the long ball.
 
In total, eight different Golden Beears collected hits as the team finished with 10 in the game. JT Hoffmann added a pair of hits, including a double, while Brayden Roybal went 1-2 with a walk and two runs scored. Jack Young added a double of his own while also scoring twice, extending his hitting streak to five games.
 
Wyatt O'Bey (0-1) took the loss for the Bulldogs as he worked 2.0 innings, allowing four runs on five hits while striking out one.
 
GAME TWO: Concordia-St. Paul 11, Minnesota Duluth 10 (10 inn.)
The second game of the day proved to be a rollercoaster ride as both teams saw four run leads slip away before the Golden Bears claimed the sweep with a walk-off win in the 10^th.
 
Jaden Werner capped off an impressive day with his fourth hit, and first single, of the day to seal the victory in walk-off fashion. Werner finished a triple shy of the cycle in the game, going 3-5 with a homer, a double, a walk three RBIs and three runs scored in the win to move his season slash line up to .286/.484/.905 while matching Ibach for the team lead with four home runs.
 
Jack Young reached base five times in the contest as he collected four hits, including a double, while driving in two and swiping his fourth bag of the year. Young bumped his season average up to .419 with the effort. Brayden Roybal matched him with three hits and two walks while driving in two to increase his average to .450 and his on-base percentage to .621.
 
Nick Thimsen chipped in a pair of extra-base hits with a double and his first home run of the year while Jarod Wandersee drew three walks and added two singles while scoring twice. Thimsen moved to .362/.400/.532 on the year while Wandersee moved to .390/.500/.561.
 
Gavin Rusch picked up a no decision in the start as he worked the first 3.0 innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out a pair. Eric Lundell followed with 1.1 hitless innings, allowing one run and striking out one, before Michael Voss scattered three hits over his 1.2 scoreless innings of work. Mason Nadolney worked out of trouble a few times as he did not allow a run in 1.2 innings, working around three hits and three walks while striking out two. Ryan Fering (1-0) nabbed his first career win as he struck out two in a 1-2-3 10^th.
 
Trailing 4-1 heading to the bottom of the third, Bryce Nelson trimmed the deficit to two with an RBI single before Werner tied the score with a two-run shot. Thimsen matched that in the fourth as his two-run homer put CSP in front 6-4.
 
The Bulldogs got one back in the top of the fifth on a Brandt Kolpack run-scoring single, but an RBI groundout for Justin McGuigan and an RBI single for Young extended the lead to three at 8-5. Concordia followed the same script in the seventh as they followed a Minnesota Duluth run in the top of the frame with two of their own, on back-to-back bases loaded walks, to push the lead to 10-6.
 
UMD was not done, however, as they exploded with four runs on four hits a half inning later, including three run-scoring singles, to tie the game up at 10-10 heading to the home half of the eighth.
 
After CSP stranded a pair in scoring position in the eighth and UMD stranded the bases loaded in the ninth, the Golden Bears finally brought the game to an end in the ninth. Pietsch, Wandersee and Nelson delivered three straight one-out singles before Werner sent Concordia home happy with the walk-off single.