WAYNE, Neb. – Concordia St. Paul baseball (16-19, 12-11 NSIC) dropped Sunday's doubleheader against the Wayne State Wildcats (20-19, 14-11 NSIC) at Pete Chapman Complex as they dropped game one 3-0 and game two 7-6.
The Golden Bears will return to action this Thursday on the road against St. Olaf College at 3:00 p.m. CSP will conclude the week with a three-game home series against the Augustana Vikings at Bob Barnes Field beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
GAME 1: CSP 0, WSC 3 (Seven Innings)
Wayne State used strong pitching, a trio of runs and left nine Golden Bears stranded throughout the seven-inning contest to secure the 3-0 victory.
Mason Wolf (2-3) and
Nick Thimsen (2-4) used multi-hit games to combine for four of Concordia's seven hits.
Mason Nadolney added the lone extra-base hit for the Golden Bears with a double in the fifth inning.
Jonah Lewis (3-4) made his ninth start of the season and pitched all 6.0 innings for the Golden Bears. The sophomore righty recorded a pair of strikeouts while allowing five hits, three runs and two walks on the bump.
Pitching made the difference for the Wildcats in game one. Nathan Anderson (3-4) went 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts. The sophomore allowed five hits, a walk and zero runs to secure his third winning decision of the season. Braden Cannon (7) picked up his seventh save of the season with four strikeouts in the final 1.1 innings.
Neither team was able to find the scoreboard in the early innings until the Wildcats used a two-RBI single to center field to break the 0-0 gridlock in the fourth inning. Wayne added their third run in the next inning with a solo homer to right center, extending their lead to 3-0.
In the seventh, back-to-back singles from Wolf and McGuigan followed by a walk from
Brayden Roybal loaded the bases with no outs. However, Braden Cannon worked out of the jam with three consecutive strikeouts to strand the three runs and secure the 3-0 victory.
GAME 2: CSP 6, WSC 7
A late comeback bid saw the Golden Bears score six unanswered runs, but it was not enough to overcome a 7-0 deficit.
Kal Brohmer (3-5) and McGuigan (3-4) swung the bats well with three hits and four RBIs combined. Nelson (2-5) and Wolf (2-5) also added a pair of hits for the Golden Bears, who finished with 11 total in game two.
Christian Morel (2-5) appeared on the mound as the starter with a strikeout for CSP in game two. The junior went 3.0 innings with six hits, four runs and a walk.
Reece Piontek provided 3.0 solid innings from the bullpen. The sophomore held the Wildcats scoreless with a pair of strikeouts and only one hit allowed.
Wayne State got off to a fast start with the first seven runs to open the game, highlighted by a three-run homer run in the third inning.
A two-RBI triple to left center field from Brohmer that scored Roybal and McGuigan sparked the late inning comeback for the Golden Bears in the seventh inning.
In the eighth, Concordia found themselves within a run of Wayne State with four runs off five hits after six straight batters reached base safely that was highlighted by a double from Wolf. McGuigan, Nelson and Brohmer each had RBIs in an inning that resulted from singles.
However, the Wildcats escaped the late heroics to take game two, 7-6, after retiring the Golden Bears in order in the ninth inning.
