MINNETONKA, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (8-6, 2-0 NSIC) opened up conference play with a doubleheader sweep of Bemidji State (3-13, 0-2 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at Veterans Field at Minnetonka High School. CSP rode senior Luke DeGrammont to a 2-0 shutout win in game one before rolling to a 7-2 win in game two.
 
Over the two games, DeGrammont, Jonah Lewis, Christian Morel and Alec Holcomb combined for a staggering 23 strikeouts compared to just two walks in their 16.0 combined innings. The quartet limited the Beavers to just 10 hits and one extra-base hit to finish with a .192 opponent average on the day.
 
GAME ONE: Concordia-St. Paul 2, Bemidji State 0
In the conference opener, Luke DeGrammont (2-0) made quick work of the Beavers as he needed just 80 pitches to spin a complete game shutout. The left-hander was spotted a run in the second and another in the sixth to secure the victory.
 
DeGrammont set a new career high with 11 strikeouts as he allowed just three singles and no walks and faced just two batters over the minimum. He retired 14 in a row from second inning to the seventh, including four in a row via the strikeout in the middle innings. It was his first career complete game shutout as he lowered his ERA to 1.86 and his opponent average to .233 on the year.
 
BSU's Logan Barrick (1-2) took the tough luck loss as he allowed just two runs on two hits while tallying seven strikeouts in his 6.0 inning complete game effort.
 
Concordia used both of their hits well in the game as JT Hoffmann's two-out opposite field single in the second scored Matt Pietsch, who walked and stole second, while Nick Thimsen singled and stole second before moving up to third and scoring on a pair of wild pitches in the sixth. The duo tallied two of the team's four steals in the game as Brayden Roybal and Matt Pietsch both drew walks and stole bases in the win.
 
BSU's best scoring opportunity came in the seventh as they opened the frame with back-to-back singles, but a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play on an attempted double steal followed by the 11^th and final strikeout of the game for DeGrammont preserved the shutout.
 
GAME TWO: Concordia-St. Paul 7, Bemidji State 2
Concordia picked up right where they left off in game one as Jonah Lewis blanked BSU over the first four frames while the offense put runs on the board in the first and third to build a 2-0 advantage. Bemidji State evened it up with a run in the fifth and another in the sixth before CSP regained the lead with three in the sixth and a run each in the seventh and eighth to secure the victory.
 
Lewis worked the first 5.0+ innings, allowing just two runs and no walks while striking out a career-best nine in a no-decision. Tasked with entering the game with the bases loaded with nobody out in the sixth, Christian Morel (1-1) did a tremendous job of limiting the damage as he allowed just one run to cross the plate. Over his 2.0 innings of work, he did not allow a hit and walked one while striking out one. Alec Holcomb followed with a nearly identical line, allowing just a walk over two hitless innings while striking out a pair to finish it off.
 
After being held to just a pair of hits in the series opener, the CSP bats came alive in game two. CSP's top four in the lineup combined to go 7-17 (.412) with a walk, five runs scored and a pair of RBIs in the win. Jack Young, Nick Thimsen and Chandler Ibach all finished with two-hit performances while Brayden Roybal reached safely three times with a single, a walk and a hit by pitch. Concordia continued to use their team speed with four more steals, eight for the doubleheader, as Roybal, Ibach, Matt Pietsch and Jarod Wandersee all had a steal in the game.
 
Will Lavin (0-5) took the loss for Bemidji State as he worked 5.0 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) and seven hits while striking out five.
 
It was Matt Pietsch's clutch two-run double to the right center gap in the bottom of the sixth that turned a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 lead before another run crossed the plate one batter later on a Bryce Nelson fielder's choice. Jarod Wandersee added to the lead with a run-scoring single of his own in the seventh before Thimsen tacked on an RBI single in the eighth to round out the scoring.
 
The two teams will wrap up the series at Veterans Field on Sunday with a single nine-inning contest. First pitch is scheduled for noon.