TUCSON, Ariz. – Concordia St. Paul baseball (1-5) split the first two games of the Tucson Invitational against Malone (5-2) and Adams State (4-9) on Friday at the Kino Sports Complex.
As a team, the Golden Bears hit .370 with 27 hits including eight for extra bases. Seven different Golden Bears registered a multi-hit day.
Nick Thimsen reached base seven times and finished 5-9 with two doubles and four RBIs.
Brayden Roybal chipped in a 4-8 with a pair of walks, scoring six times.
Concordia's two starters,
Korey Dahlberg and
Jonah Lewis, combined to work 11.0 innings allowing just three earned runs while striking out 12 batters.
GAME 1: Malone 16, CSP 6
It was a game filled with momentum shifts as the Pioneers jumped off to an early 5-0 lead before the Golden Bears erased it with five runs of their own in the fourth. However, Malone would pull away late with 11 runs in the final two innings to come out on top.
Malone would strike first in the top of the first inning with a sacrifice fly to center field before the two teams were held scoreless for the next two innings. However, in the fourth inning, the scoreboard would light up as the two teams would end the inning tied at five runs apiece.
In the bottom of the fourth, Concordia would strike with five runs. The Golden Bears used seven straight hits that included a double from
Noah Juliar and triples from
Koby McBroome and
Justin McGuigan.
The Pioneers regained the lead with three in the eighth before a
Nick Thimsen RBI double trimmed it to 8-6 heading into the ninth.
Malone then put the game out of reach in the final inning with eight runs to secure the 16-6 victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
Roybal finished 2-4 at the plate with a pair of runs scored and an RBI.
Mason Wolf reached base safely three times, going 2-3 with a hit by pitch and a stolen base.
Juliar went 1-3 with a double and a walk.
Jonah Lewis picked up a no decision in the start allowing two earned runs and striking out four in 5.0 innings of work.
Eric Lundell provided 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with five strikeouts in relief.
For the second consecutive game, the Golden Bears collect at least 11 hits following a 13 hit and 12 run performance in the series finale at Washburn.
GAME 2: CSP 13, Adams State 2
The Golden Bears got off to a fast start with one run in the first before tacking on nine runs in the middle inning, to coast to a 10-2 victory.
After Concordia jumped out to a 1-0 lead with an RBI single from
Kal Brohmer that drove in Roybal, CSP starter
Korey Dahlberg kept the Grizzlies off the board until the sixth.
The Golden Bears added to their lead with five runs in the fifth that was highlighted by a grand slam from Juliar and an RBI double from Thimsen. They extended the lead to 10-0 in the sixth with three straight RBIs from Roybal, Thimsen and Juliar.
Adams State extended the game with a run in the sixth and another in the eighth before the Golden Bears added three insurance runs in the final inning to secure their first win of the season, 13-2.
HIGHLIGHTS
Juliar added his second home run of the season with a grand slam and five RBIs.
Brohmer went a perfect 3-3 with a pair of RBIs, a run scored and a walk.
Thimsen added a strong 3-4 performance with three RBIs, along with a pair of runs and walks
Roybal led the team in runs scored with four in his 2-4 outing while he added a pair of walks and an RBI.
Dahlberg matched his career best in strikeouts and innings pitched as he delivered 6.0 innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts to pick up the win.
The Golden Bears made it three games in a row with 11 hits after notching 16 in game two.
Up Next: CSP baseball will return to action tomorrow at 2:30 CT for their second meeting of the Tucson Invitational against Malone (Ohio).
