DULUTH, Minn. – Concordia St. Paul baseball (14-15, 10-6 NSIC) used strong hitting performances to sweep the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (12-20, 5-14 NSIC) at Wade Stadium, as they defeated UMD 11-7 in game one and 18-6 in game two.
 
Concordia baseball will return to action tomorrow afternoon for their home opener of the 2023 season against the Winona State Warriors at Barnes Field. First pitch of the doubleheader has been pushed back to 1:30 p.m. with game two following shortly after the conclusion of game one. Action will conclude on Saturday with a single game finale at noon.
 
The Golden Bears now hold a 32-30 advantage and have been winners of eight of the last 10 matchups in series history between the two programs. The 18 runs scored in game two is the most scored by either team in the 23 year rivalry.
 
GAME 1: CSP 11, UMD 7 (Seven Innings)
CSP scored 11 runs on 11 hits in game one. Mason Nadolney and Justin McGuigan led the team in runs scored with two, while Kal Brohmer and Brayden Roybal led the team with two hits apiece. Jaden Werner provided the lone extra base with a double that drove in three runners.
 
Concordia had three pitchers appear on the bump. Gavin Rusch made his fifth start of the season and picked up a no-contest with a strikeout in 3.2 innings. Isaac Johnson (2-0) picked up his second winning performance of the season in relief, while Eric Lundell closed the show with a pair of strikeouts to secure his third save of the season after going the final 3.0 innings.
 
The Golden Bears found themselves down big in the early going of the game. The Bulldogs took a commanding 7-0 lead with a run in the second and six runs in the fourth. However, CSP used an eight run fifth inning to take the lead and later added three insurance runs in the seventh to claim the 11-7 victory.
 
The Bulldogs stuck first with a run in the second inning and added six more runs off seven hits in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead over the Golden Bears going into the fifth.
 
However, the Golden Bears were able to plate eight runs on six hits in the fifth that was highlighted by a three RBI double from Werner. Mason Wolf and Noah Juliar each recorded RBI singles, while Bryce Nelson and Nadolney both recorded RBIs as well.
 
In the seventh, the Golden Bears added a trio of insurance runs after Roybal used a two-RBI single to drive in Werner and Landon Behringer, while Nelson used an RBI single to drive in McGuigan for the final run of the game. Lundell retired the final three batters to secure the 11-7 win.
 
GAME 2: CSP 18, UMD 6 (Seven Innings)
Concordia recorded 24 hits in game two, which is the most hits they have acquired since March 5, 2019 whenever they put up 25 hits against the Wayne State Wildcats. 18 runs is the most runs that the Golden Bears have scored against an opponent since last season against Newman (Kan.) on April 20th.
 
McGuigan had a career game at the plate in game two. The junior outfielder finished 4-5 with a double from the plate with six RBIs, three runs and a walk. Nelson added four hits, a pair of RBIs and two runs scored. Werner provided two more doubles for the Golden Bears, bringing his total to three for the day. Brohmer also recorded an extra base hit with a double of his own.
 
Reece Piontek went 4.0 innings as the game two starter with three strikeouts and three walks. Carter Schulte (1-0) collected his first career win in relief with a pair strikeouts and zero runs allowed in 1.0 innings, while Leo Bustos completed the final two innings with a team best four strikeouts.
 
Concordia controlled game two from the opening pitch as they jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the opening three innings of play. The Bulldogs rallied off six runs in the fourth and fifth, but it was not enough as the Golden Bears went on to win by run rule in the seventh, 18-6.
 
The Golden Bears picked up right where they left off from game one with seven run off five hits in the opening inning highlighted by RBI singles from Juliar, McGuigan and Nelson. Brohmer and Nick Thimsen were both able to score from wild pitches, while the final run of the inning saw a Bulldog error from third baseman allow Roybal to score, making the score 7-0. 
 
CSP added three more runs in the second inning after McGuigan hit an RBI double to right center that drove home Wolf and Werner. Nelson added an RBI single two at-bats later that scored McGuigan from second to give CSP a 10-0.
 
In the third inning, five consecutive hits from 4-8 hole hitters led to a pair of runs after RBI singles from Wolf and McGuigan scored Juliar and Werner, who had both reached safely with singles of their own earlier in the inning.
 
Minnesota Duluth did not go away quietly. They were able to make some noise in the later innings after cutting the Golden Bears lead to seven with a run in the fourth and five runs off three hits in the fifth inning.
 
However, the Golden Bears used RBI singles from Brohmer in the fifth and McGuigan in the sixth before putting the game out of reach in the seventh with four runs off six hits that was highlighted by an RBI double from Werner and RBI singles from Thimsen and Wolf.
 
Bustos would close the show on the bump in the seventh as he retired the side in order to seal the 18-6 run rule victory in seven innings.