MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Concordia St. Paul baseball (4-9) split games with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (7-6) in the final non-conference doubleheader of the season on Wednesday night at U.S. Bank Stadium.
 
As a team, the Golden Bears had a combined batting average of .295 with 18 hits, including five extra bases, 10 RBIs and 10 walks from the two games. Justin McGuigan, Kal Brohmer and Noah Juliar each batted .500 on the night and notched three hits.
 
On the mound, Eric Lundell (2-0) led the way for the Golden Bears with his second winning performance from the bullpen this season. The junior pitched a 4.0 inning shutout and allowed only one hit on the night. Matt Sherman also put together a solid performance with 4.0 innings on the bump, allowing only two hits and one run.
 
Up next, the Golden Bears will take on the Bemidji State Beavers in the opening weekend of conference play.
 
GAME 1: UMD 4, CSP 8 (Seven Innings)
Concordia had to overcome an early four-run deficit to defeat the Bulldogs. The comeback was propelled by solid pitching from Lundell and extra bases from McGuigan and Juliar.
 
Minnesota Duluth struck first with an RBI single to center field in the opening inning to take an early advantage. They would extend their lead to 4-0 with a trio of runs in the third inning.
 
The Golden Bears halted the Bulldogs' momentum after tying the game with four runs in the bottom of the third which was highlighted by RBI singles from Juliar and Bryce Nelson, who drove in Brayden Roybal and Jaden Werner.
 
Lundell entered the game on the bump in the fourth and pitched the final 4.0 innings. In the bottom of the inning, a pair of unearned runs gave the Golden Bears their first lead, 6-4.
 
Nelson and Mason Wolf would seal the deal after they drove in the final two runs in the fifth inning, as the Golden Bears held on to take game one of the doubleheader, 8-4.
 
GAME 2: CSP 4, UMD 5 (Nine Innings)
It was a game of momentum and lead changes that went the Bulldogs' way at the end. After the Golden Bears took an early 4-0 lead in the second inning, the Bulldogs responded with five unanswered points including the game-winning run in extra innings.
 
The Golden Bears struck first in the second inning with four that were highlighted by extra bases from Werner and Roybal. Brohmer scored the game's first run while Werner, McGuigan and Wolf added the other three runs for the Golden Bears.
 
The Bulldogs responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning and later tied the game with an RBI single in the fourth and a solo shot to left field in the fifth, making the score 4-4.
With the bases loaded and zero outs in the ninth, Minnesota Duluth used an RBI single to drive in the game-winning run to secure the 5-4 win.