BISMARCK, N.D. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (15-10, 9-4 NSIC) claimed a road split at the University of Mary (10-16, 2-9 NSIC) as they won game one 9-6 before dropping game two 11-6 on Tuesday afternoon.
GAME ONE: Concordia-St. Paul 9, UMary 6
After an hour and 45 minute rain delay to start the doubleheader, both teams piled on the runs in the first game of the day as the Golden Bears scored three runs in each of the three even innings to claim a 9-6 game one win.
Concordia took advantage of 10 UMary walks and three errors as they needed just four hits to put nine runs on the board. One of those four hits was a crucial pinch-hit, two-run double off the bat of
Kal Brohmer in the sixth that gave CSP the lead for good.
Brayden Roybal added three RBIs of his own as he went 1-2 with a pair of walks in the contest.
Roybal was one of three Golden Bears to draw two walks in the game as
Jaden Werner finished 1-2 with a pair of walks and two runs scored while
Mason Wolf walked twice and scored a run.
Bryce Nelson collected the fourth and final hit for the squad as he drove in a run with an RBI single in the sixth two batters after Brohmer put CSP in front.
On the mound,
Reece Piontek worked the first 1.1 innings before handing it off to
Wyatt Rudolf for the next 2.2 innings. Entering the game in the fifth with the score tied at 6-6,
Matt Sherman came through in a big way as he blanked the Marauders for the final 3.0 innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out five to pick up his first win of the year and second of his career. It was his fourth consecutive scoreless outing as he lowered his ERA to 1.64 and his opponent average to .154 through 11.0 innings of work.
It proved to be a back and forth contest as UMary struck first with a run in the bottom of the first before CSP answered with three runs without the benefit of a hit in the top half of the second. The Marauders regained the lead at 4-3 with three of their own in the bottom of the inning.
In the fourth, CSP loaded the bases with a Werner single and back-to-back
Justin McGuigan and
Jack Young hit by pitches before Werner tied the game on a wild pitch. Roybal put CSP back in front with his two-run single, but Derek Shoen tied it back up with a two-run shot in the bottom of the fourth.
It was Brohmer's time to shine in the top of the sixth as he gave Concordia the lead for good with his two-run double before scoring on Nelson's single to round out the scoring.
GAME TWO: UMary 11, Concordia-St. Paul 6
In game two, the Golden Bears were unable to dig their way out of an early 8-1 deficit as they saw their five-game winning streak snapped in an 11-6 loss.
CSP doubled their hit total in the second game as they scored six runs on eight hits in the contest.
Jarod Wandersee was the lone Concordia hitter to collect a multi-hit game as he went 2-4 with a double and four RBIs in the loss.
Bryce Nelson,
Brayden Roybal,
Jack Young and
Chandler Ibach each reached base safely twice as all four picked up a single and a walk or hit by pitch in the game. Nelson and Roybal each scored twice while Young scored one and drove in another.
Ryan Fering provided a bright spot for the pitching staff as he worked 2.1 hitless innings, walking one and striking out three, to give him 3.2 scoreless innings on the season.
Michael Voss added 2.0 innings of two-hit ball, allowing a run to go along with three strikeouts.
Derek Shoen had a big game at the plate as he finished 2-3 with a homer, a pair of walks and a game-best five RBIs in the win for the Marauders.
After jumping out to a 1-0 lead on a Wandersee RBI single in the first, UMary answered with three in the bottom of the frame and five more in the second to pull away. Concordia battled back with a bases clearing three-run double in the third again off the bat of Wandersee, but that would be all the closer they would get as the two teams traded single runs from there to bring it to an 11-6 final.
Concordia-St. Paul remains on the road this weekend as they travel to St. Cloud State for a three-game set on Saturday and Sunday.
