ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (12-5, 4-4 NSIC) will head to Nebraska to clash with the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (9-9, 3-5 NSIC) at Christensen Field in Beatrice, Nebraska.
 
The first pitch of the series-opening doubleheader will take place on Friday at 10 a.m. with game two following shortly after. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 11 a.m. with game two following shortly after.
 
WATCH ONLINE - NSIC NETWORK
Powered by the NSIC Network, all Northern Sun home and away baseball games will be broadcast online, free of charge, weather permitting. Visit www.nsicnetwork.com/cspbears to watch the Golden Bears. Away games will feature production by the host institution, while home games are broadcast using BlueFrame Technology with the play-by-play call of Dan Flanagan, voice of the Golden Bears for over a decade. Flanagan is a St. Paul native who professionally trained in broadcasting at Fordham University in New York where he was the voice of the basketball and football teams, among other sports. NSIC Network Announcement & FAQ
 
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Not able to watch or keep an eye on live stats? Check in on social media by following our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds. Each platform will have different levels of engagement. Twitter will offer scoring updates, Instagram will feature live look-ins and engaging content and Facebook is a great place to get links to previews, recaps and more. Simply search for CSP Bears on any of the platforms and remember to #BeGolden
 
SEASON LEADERS
The Golden Bears are among one of the best hitting teams in the country as they rank ninth in NCAA Division II with a batting average of .338. In addition, Concordia ranks third in the country in scoring with 10.6 runs scored per game with 180 in 17 games. 

Bennett McCollow has proven to be a great addition to the starting lineup this season after transferring in from North Iowa Area Community College. The junior leads the conference with 31 hits and 10 doubles and has the second-best batting average of .492, which is also seventh in all of NCAA Division II after 13 games. He has also tallied 23 RBIs, 10 walks and an NSIC-leading nine hit-by-pitches.
 
Jaden Werner has also been impressive behind the plate with a slash line of .446/.602/.667. The senior has recorded 25 hits with six doubles, three home runs and a triple, 22 RBIs, 17 runs, seven walks and three hit-by-pitches.
 
Mason Nadolney leads the team and is tied for second in the conference with eight home runs. He is also tied for second in the NSIC with 28 RBIs with Noah Juliar. Juliar is also tied for the most triples (4) in the conference.
 
Korey Dahlberg (2-0) has shined on the mound for the Navy and Gold this season. The Farmington, Minnesota native resides with a 5.64 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, with 19 strikeouts and three walks in 22.1 innings pitched this season.
 
Also in the starting rotation, Gavin Rusch (2-1) has collected 17 strikeouts and walked only five in 21.2 innings, while freshman Ian Segna (3-0) has tallied 12 strikeouts in 18.2 innings of work.
 
Seniors Erick Lundell and Matt Sherman have anchored the bullpen. Lundell (2-1)(1) has played a crucial role with 13 strikeouts in 11.0, while Matt Sherman (2-0) has added 13.0 innings with 11 strikeouts.
 
LAST TIME OUT
CSP dropped their first series of the season last week against the University of Mary Marauders in Brandon, South Dakota, inside Aspen Park at First National Bank Field.
 
The Golden Bears collected 34 hits as a team over the four-game stretch. Koby McBroome led the way after going 6-14 with his first home run of the season. He added a team-leading six runs and six walks for the Navy and Gold.
 
McCollow also shined behind the plate with six hits, including a double. Justin McGuigan added a grand slam and Mason Nadolney homered twice against the Marauders.
 
On the Mound, Sherman collected the win on Saturday after going 4.0 innings with three strikeouts and zero walked batters, and Lundell tallied his first save of the season in the finale. Rusch led the team with four strikeouts and Dahlberg recorded the most innings pitched (4.2).
 
GAME ONE: CSP 15, UMARY 16
After trailing 8-0 heading to the fifth inning, the Golden Bears exploded for seven runs before adding three more in the sixth and five more in the seventh to build a 15-14 advantage, but the Marauders rallied for two in the ninth to claim a 16-15 walk-off win.
 
Offense was the name of the game in game one as CSP saw seven of their 12 hits go for extra bases while they also drew a staggering 16 walks in the contest. Seven of Concordia's nine starters reached base safely three times or more, with four registering multi-hit games. All nine drew at least one walk, with six of nine drawing two walks.
 
McBroome set the tone from the leadoff spot as he reached base five times, going 3-5 with a pair of walks while delivering his first homer of the season. McGuigan and Brayden Roybal each homered and doubled in the game as McGuigan finished 2-5 with a walk, a team-best five runs driven in and three runs scored, while Roybal went 2-4 with a pair of walks, runs and RBIs.
 
Nadolney launched his team-leading seventh home run of the year to go along with two walks, while Bennett McCollow had two hits, including a double, two walks and a hit by pitch. Werner added three runs as he went 1-2 with a pair of walks and a pair of hit-by-pitches on the day.
 
Dahlberg battled through 4.2 innings as he walked none and struck out three in a no-decision. Jack Nicklaus delivered 1.1 innings of one-run ball in relief while Lundell took the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) in 1.2 innings of action.
 
Concordia got to the UMary bullpen as they hung 15 runs on the board in just 5.2 innings against their relief corps.
 
The Marauders jumped on the Golden Bears early with three in the first before they gave themselves a comfortable lead with five more in the fourth, but the high-powered CSP offense would not go quietly.
 
Following a walk, a hit by pitch, an infield single and another walk to start the top of the fifth, McGuigan put a big dent in the deficit as he launched a grand slam to make it 8-5. Roybal joined in the fun with a solo homer one batter later before McBroome gave CSP back-to-back-to-back home runs to pull within a run.
 
The Marauders got two back in their half of the fifth before Nadolney hammered a two-run shot, CSP's fourth homer in nine batters, to trim it back to one. Juliar drew a bases-loaded walk later in the inning to tie it up at 10-10.
 
The back-and-forth continued as UMary regained the lead with four runs in the bottom half of the sixth before Concordia responded once again. The first three hitters reached to start the seventh on just one hit before McGuigan drove in one with a fielder's choice and Roybal drove in another with a double. McCollow closed the gap back to one with an RBI walk before a two-out UMary error allowed the tying run to score. Werner then gave CSP the lead with a bases loaded hit by pitch to make it 15-14.
 
Both teams matched zeroes until the bottom of the ninth when the Marauders picked up a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Lundell stepped up in a big way with a strikeout to bring the Golden Bears within two outs of securing the victory, but a defensive miscue allowed two runs to score as UMary escaped with a one-run victory.
 
GAME TWO: CSP 2, UMARY 7
Mary picked up where they left off with a strong offensive effort to score seven runs on eight hits while holding CSP to two runs on six hits. The Marauders led by as many as seven in the game, enormously due to their impressive fourth inning that saw them score five in the frame.
 
In the early innings, after a pair of doubles from Marauders propelled them to an early 2-0 advantage, the pitching staff began to find rhythm as neither club could score in the next two innings.
 
Starting pitcher Rusch led the scoreless effort in the early innings after retiring six of the seven batters he faced in those frames for the Golden Bears. The Green Bay, Wisconsin native finished the game with four strikeouts in 4.0 innings pitched before being relieved by Carter Schulte, who allowed only one hit in 2.0 innings of work.
 
In the fourth inning, McGuigan (2-3) continued to show a hot bat against the Marauders after driving in Bryce Nelson - who had stolen second and advanced to third via wild pitch - with an RBI single to bring the Golden Bears within one. UMary answered with five runs on three hits, highlighted by a home run from Carter Beck, to extend their lead to six.
 
Concordia attempted to rally in the top of the seventh after McGuigan opened the inning with a single - later scoring off a wild pitch - before Roybal added a double to left field. However, the Marauders would retire three straight via strikeout with the bases loaded to claim the 7-2 victory.
 
GAME THREE: CSP 2, UMARY 13 (Seven Innings)
It was all Marauders for most of the game in the second game of Friday's doubleheader. They used 13 hits to drive in 13 runners to claim the doubleheader and series with a 13-2 win. Concordia struggled to find an offensive rhythm as they were held to a pair of runs on three hits.
 
Reece Piontek made his fourth start of the season on the bump, where he tied a season-best in strikeouts with three in the afternoon. The bullpen also saw a lot of action in the shortened game, as Andrew Boeser, Logan Shaffer and Evan Eberle each saw time on the bump for the Navy and Gold.
 
Despite scoring the first run of the game after McGuigan drove in Nadolney with an RBI single to right field in the second inning, the Golden Bears struggled offensively with three hits as a team. McBroome and Brohmer collected the second and third hits for CSP.
 
After the Marauders answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning, a fielder's choice that allowed Nick Thimsen to reach safely also credited him with an RBI as well, as McBroome scored to even the game at 2-2.
 
However, Mary added four runs in the fifth, five runs in the fourth and a pair of runs in the fifth, highlighted by a 2-run home run by Michael Polson to secure the 13-2 run-rule victory.
 
GAME FOUR: CSP 13, UMARY 12
Saturday's finale from South Dakota was a back-and-forth classic between the two conference foes that consisted of five lead changes before the Golden Bears prevailed with three runs in the eighth to take the game, 13-12.
 
McCollow had a great afternoon at the plate with a trio of hits in five plate appearances while adding two runs and an RBI to his stat line. Juliar also recorded a 3-hit afternoon after going 3-5 with three runs scored and a pair of RBIs.
 
Nadolney had a game changing home run and Nelson added an extra-base hit with a double. Thimsen also had an impressive 2-3 showing at the plate with three runs, an RBI and a walk.
 
Segna picked up a no-decision in his fourth start on the mound this season in the Navy and Golden. Sherman collected his second win of the season after collecting a team-leading three strikeouts in 4.0 innings. Lundell notched his first save of the season as he closed the show on the bump.
 
Concordia scored their most runs in the inning to open the game with four runs on four hits. After McCollow drove in McBroome for the game's first run and later scored on a wild pitch, Nelson added a 2-RBI double to left center field to extend the early lead to four runs.
 
After giving up a pair of runs in the second, CSP scored their third run of the game after Nelson drove in Thimsen to give the Golden Bears a 5-2 advantage, but the Marauders responded with their best inning of the game with four runs in the third.
 
The consistent offensive production continued into the next inning, with the lead change of the game going in favor of the Golden Bears after Roybal and McBroome scored the sixth and seventh runs for CSP. Despite the offense humming, Mary answered with a pair of homers from Josh Walker and a solo shot from Noah Hull to go up by their largest margin of three runs after five.
 
Down 10-7 with Juliar and Thimsen on first second in the sixth, Nadolney changed the game's trajectory with his team-leading eighth home run of the season that carried over the wall in left center to even the game at 10 runs apiece.
 
The Golden Bear regained the lead with a three-run eighth inning that was highlighted by a crucial RBI single from Juliar, which ultimately propelled them to the one-run victory.
 
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST UMC
The Golden Bears and Golden Eagles have met 65 times since April 28, 2000, with the Golden Bears holding a 48-17 all-time advantage. Concordia holds the longest winning streak in the series, standing at 43 games from 2003 to 2018. However, UMC has had the upper hand lately after winning eight out of the last 10 matchups, including a trio of shutout wins last season in Omaha, Nebraska.
 
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
UMC posted a 38-20 (26-10 NSIC) record in the 2023 campaign and was picked to finish fourth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 129 points.
 
The Golden Eagles hold a 9-9 (3-5 NSIC) record this season after concluding non-conference action on March 15 against Purdue Northwest (Ind.).
 
In non-conference play, Minnesota Crookston finished 6-4. They dropped a pair to Colorado at Colorado Springs in their season-opening series before winning the final game, 14-4, in Colorado. They then headed to Florida, where they claimed wins against Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and Davis & Elkins (W. Va.). They concluded non-conference play in the Sunshine State, claiming wins against Wayne State (Mich.), New College of Florida, and Purdue Northwest.
 
The Golden Eagles have played a pair of conference series against Wayne State (Neb.) and Sioux Falls (S.D.). In the conference opener, they dropped 3-of-4 to the Wildcats in Fort Scott, Kansas. While in Florida, they split a conference series with the Cougars, 2-2.
 
The player to watch for Crookston is #18 Teddy Giefer. The senior from Courtland, Minnesota, has slashed .394/.463/.507 with 25 hits, 25 RBIs and 13 walks. He has recorded 10 extra-base hits with three home runs and seven doubles.
 
The pitcher to watch is #7 Brody Sorenson (2-1). The senior right-handed pitcher has an ERA of 3.45 and a WHIP of 1.12 after 28.2 innings pitched. He has a team-leading 35 strikeouts and has walked only six batters.