ROSEVILLE, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (6-1, 3-1 NSIC) claimed their opening series in conference play over the Minot State Beavers (2-6, 1-3 NSIC), 3-1, after splitting the doubleheader on Monday afternoon at Reynolds Field.
 
The Golden Bears will return to action on March 2-8 for the TIG Sports Tucson Invitational Games in Tucson, Arizona. CSP will play seven games, beginning with a doubleheader against Adams State (Colo.) on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (CT) with game two following directly afterward.
 
Concordia and Minot battled on a sunny and windy afternoon at Reynolds Field to split the day two doubleheader. However, with yesterday's sweep, CSP has now won the back-to-back series against MISU and CSP holds a 14-12 all-time series advantage over the Beavers.
 
Jaden Werner shined from behind the plate with his third home run of the season, along with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored. The senior played a pivotal role in the Golden Bears series victory after slashing .400/.428. /.800 with six hits that included a pair of home runs. He also drove in six runners and scored five times during the four-game stretch.
 
Noah Juliar also had an impressive showing for the Navy and Gold. The junior outfield collected a trio of hits that included a triple and double. He also led the team with four RBIs and scored two runs of his own.
 
Ian Segna (2-0) collected his second win of the season in his second career start on the mound. The freshman collected a team-leading five strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched and walked only two batters. Reece Piontek started the opening game on the bump, collecting a pair of strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work, and Andrew Boeser (0-1) was charged with the loss in game one.
 
GAME 1: CSP 3, MISU 6 (Seven Innings)
Much like yesterday's opener, Minot State was able to tame the Golden Bear offense by holding them to only four hits in route to the 6-3 victory. Both teams struggled defensively, as they committed four errors apiece.
 
In the early going, MISU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with a sacrifice fly in the first and an RBI single in the third. However, the Golden Bears responded to the two-run deficit with a 3-run third inning to take their first only lead of the game.
 
In the third inning, a 2-RBI double by Juliar that drove home Bennett McCollow and Kal Brohmer got them on the board. Mason Nadolney added the third run of the inning after scoring on a throwing error by the Minot State third baseman.
 
However, the Beavers responded with a home run in the fourth to tie the game back up, before regaining the lead with a pair of runs in the fifth. They added an insurance run in the sixth to secure the 6-3 win.
 
GAME 2: CSP 14, MISU 4 (Eight Innings)
Concordia bounced back with a strong showing in game two with 14 runs on 16 hits to secure the series with a 14-4 victory that was propelled by a strong opening inning and a 7-run third inning.
 
In the opening inning, CSP gained early momentum with four runs. Werner opened the scoring with an RBI single. Juliar then drove in two runs with a 2-RBI single up the middle. With the bases loaded following a single from Nadolney, Bryce Nelson skyed a sacrifice fly to center field that allowed Werner to score, giving CSP a 4-0 lead.
 
The Golden Bears added to their lead with a 7-run third inning that was kicked started by Werner's 11th career home run that sailed out of the park in left field. Later in the inning, after Brohmer added a 2-RBI single, McCollow followed with a 2-RBI triple that he blasted to right center field. The final run of the inning came from an RBI single by Nick Thimsen to give CSP a 10-run advantage.
 
The excitement carried over to the fourth, as Nadolney added CSP's 12th run of the game after he won a one-on-one collision at the plate that knocked the ball free from the Minot State catcher's glove.
 
Concordia added two more runs, one in the sixth and one eighth inning, on their way to an eighth inning run-rule victory that ended with a final score of 14-4.