MANKATO, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (15-20, 9-14 NSIC) saw their game one comeback fall just short as #8 Minnesota State (27-5, 20-3 NSIC) held on for a 6-4 win in the first game of the day before the Mavericks completed the doubleheader sweep with an 11-0 win in seven innings in game two.
 
GAME ONE: Minnesota State 6, Concordia-St. Paul 4
After the Mavericks scored in each of the first three innings, the Golden Bears nearly erased a 6-0 deficit in the seventh as they scored four times and brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out before MSU slowed the momentum to preserve the victory.
 
With the bases loaded and nobody out in the game's final frame, Bryce Nelson put CSP on the scoreboard with an RBI single, his third hit of the game, before Justin McGuigan was hit by a pitch to trim it to four with nobody out. Back-to-back RBI groundouts off the bats of Nick Thimsen and Brayden Roybal further trimmed the gap to two at 6-4, but Jack Brown coaxed a third consecutive groundout to preserve the save.
 
Nelson and Roybal were a big part of the offense in the contest as Nelson went 3-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored while Roybal finished 2-4 with a double and a run driven in, giving the infield duo five of the team's seven hits. Jack Young and Jaden Werner each chipped in a single and a run scored in the game.
 
Mason Nadolney (0-2) got the start for the Golden Bears as he worked the first 2.0 innings, allowing four runs on two hits while striking out one in the loss. Eric Lundell followed with 2.0 innings of two-run ball before Ryan Fering delivered his sixth scoreless outing in seven appearances on the year, going 2.0 shutout innings, scattering three hits and a walk.
 
MSU's Cam Kline (5-0) cruised through 6.0 shutout innings in the win, allowing just five hits and walking none while striking out six. Jack Brown followed Derek Lilledahl in the seventh, retiring three straight after a bases loaded hit by pitch to pick up the save.
 
GAME TWO: Minnesota State 11, Concordia-St. Paul 0 (7 inn.)
While it was the Golden Bears that finished strong in game one, the Mavericks regained the momentum in game two as they broke a scoreless tie in the third before putting four on the board in the fifth and five more in the sixth to secure the comfortable win.
 
Maverick starter Nathan Culley (3-1) made life difficult for CSP hitters as he struck out the first nine hitters he faced en route to a 6.0 shutout inning, 15 strikeout effort. Culley allowed just two hits and a walk before handing it off to Jack Zigan in the seventh.
 
Michael Voss (0-2) matched Culley in the early innings as he held the high-powered MSU offense off the board until an Adam Schneider solo homer in the third. Voss allowed just two runs on three hits in 4.0 innings in the loss.
 
Pinch hitters JT Hoffmann and Lamine Diaby-Gassama tallied two of the team's four hits for the game as the Golden Bears put up their best threat in the seventh. Diaby-Gassama continued to take advantage of his opportunities as he collected his fourth hit in nine at-bats on the year.
 
Nick Thimsen collected the team's lone extra-base hit with a double while Jarod Wandersee added a single and a steal in the loss.
 
The Golden Bears are scheduled to return home this weekend as #10 Augustana is set to come to Barnes Field on Saturday and Sunday.