SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (10-9, 4-3 NSIC) and Minnesota Crookston (11-13, 3-2 NSIC) needed extra innings in both games on Sunday afternoon as the Golden Eagles edged the Golden Bears 4-1 in eight innings in game one and 5-4 in eight innings in game two at Bishop Mueller Field on the campus of Briar Cliff University.
GAME ONE: Minnesota Crookston 4, Concordia-St. Paul 1 (8 inn.)
In the series opener, CSP's
Luke DeGrammont and UMC's Jake Dykhoff squared off in a pitcher's duel as the two game one starters allowed one unearned run apiece through the first seven frames until the Golden Eagles claimed the decisive edge in the eighth.
DeGrammont (2-1) continued his dominant run to start conference play as he followed up his complete game shutout against Bemidji State with 7.1 innings of two-hit ball, striking out seven in the loss. The left-hander allowed four runs (three earned) in the game as all three earned runs came in the extra frame.
Dykhoff (5-2), on the other side, limited the Golden Bear offense to one unearned run on four hits while striking out 11 in the 8.0 inning complete game victory.
Jack Young was the lone Golden Bear to reach safely twice in the game as he drew two walks.
Nick Thimsen collected the team's lone extra-base hit with a double while
JT Hoffmann,
Brayden Roybal and
Matt Pietsch each added singles in the contest. Hoffmann added a steal while Roybal drove in the team's run.
A sacrifice fly off the bat of Jack Peppel in the second inning proved to be the only run until Roybal roped a bases loaded, run scoring single through the right side to bring in
Chandler Ibach, who reached on a walk. Pinch runner
Mason Wolf got the green light from second base, but was thrown out at the plate on a strong throw from Ben Goelz.
That score held until eighth as three walks loaded the bases with one out. Pinch hitter Matt Nunn came through with a crucial go-ahead single before a Goelz double to the gap added a pair of insurance runs.
Young drew a leadoff walk in the bottom half of the frame, but Dykhoff took control from there with a fly out and a pair of strikeouts to seal it.
GAME TWO: Minnesota Crookston 5, Concordia-St. Paul 4 (8 inn.)
Strong pitching performances continued early in game two as UMC held a 1-0 lead through four and a half innings before the Golden Bears hung four-spot on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Minnesota Crookston battled back, however, as they scrapped for two in the fifth and another in the seventh before securing the doubleheader sweep with a go-ahead run in the eighth.
Golden Bear starter
Jonah Lewis did not walk a batter for the second consecutive start as he struck out six and allowed just two earned runs on eight hits in 7.0 innings in a no-decision. The right-hander now has a 24/4 K/BB ratio in 20.0 innings on the year.
Wyatt Rudolf (1-1) was tagged with the loss in relief as he gave up a run on one hit while striking out a pair in the eighth.
Alex Koep picked up a no-decision for UMC with 6.0 innings of four-run ball (two earned) while allowing three hits and walking one and striking out eight. Jake Osowki (2-0) picked up the relief win as he retired all six batters he faced, striking out three.
Matt Pietsch delivered the big blow for CSP as he turned a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 lead with a three-run blast, his first home run of the season, in the fourth.
Mason Wolf contributed a double while
Jack Young added a single in the loss.
With the Golden Bears leading 4-1 heading to the fifth, UMC took advantage of a pair of CSP errors and a Teddy Giefer RBI single to trim the deficit to one. That 4-3 score held into the seventh as Concordia found themselves two out away from a split. Ben Bryant delivered a sacrifice to tie it and force extras, setting up Jake Hjelle, who led off the eighth with a walk before eventually scoring the winning run with a wild pitch.
Concordia will look to get back in the win column tomorrow as they conclude the three-game series with UMC at Bishop Mueller Field with a nine-inning contest at noon.
