BEATRICE, Neb. - Concordia-St. Paul baseball (13-8, 5-7 NSIC) split with Minnesota Crookston (12-10, 6-6 NSIC) on Saturday at Christensen Field  after claiming the game two finale with a walk-off sacrifice fly.
 
The Golden Bears out-hit the Golden Eagles 19-17 on the afternoon as a team. With the win in game two, CSP now holds a 49-20 all-time advantage against UMC and snapped a six-game losing skid.
 
Nick Thimsen led the way for the Navy and Gold at the plate. The Minnetonka, Minnesota native slashed .500/.556/1.000 with four hits, including a home run and a double. He added three RBIs, a run and a walk while also providing a perfect fielding percentage with 10 putouts and two assists.
 
Justin McGuigan also shined with a team-leading .600 batting average after going 3-5 with two RBIs and a walk. Kal Brohmer added four hits, while Bennett McCollow tallied a team-high two walks.
 
GAME ONE: CSP 5, UMC 6
The Golden Bears dropped a tough result in game one after holding the Golden Eagles out of the run column for four innings and leading by as many as five runs. However, UMC prevailed during the snowy conclusion of the game with six unanswered runs in the fifth and six to take the game 6-5.
 
Recce Piontek battled to a no-decision after going 5.0 innings with three strikeouts on the bump. Andrew Boeser (0-2) was charged with his second loss of the season after allowing only one earned run in the final 2.0 innings.
 
Thimsen picked up right where he left off from yesterday with a home run in the opening frame. The senior finished the series with five home runs, extending his season total to seven.
 
Following a sacrifice fly from McCollow in the third inning that drove home Brohmer for the game's second run, CSP exploded with three runs in the fourth, highlighted by an RBI single from Bryce Nelson.

Minnesota Crookston scored their first run of the game with a home run from Angelo Pacyga in the fifth inning, but they would not stop there as they scored five runs on five hits in the sixth inning.
 
GAME TWO: CSP 4, UMC 3
After dropping the series with a heart-breaking finish in game one, the Golden Bears ended the series on a high note with a walk-off victory after scoring four runs on 10 hits to claim the 4-3 victory over the Golden Eagles.
 
Ian Segna set the tone early with three scoreless innings. The freshman picked up a no-decision after finishing with a pair of strikeouts and one walk. Matt Sherman (3-0) picked up his third win of the season after retiring the three batters he faced.
 
Minnesota Crookston struck first with a home run from Caden Headlee in the fourth inning, but CSP answered right back in the bottom half after a sacrifice fly from McGuigan drove in Nelson. The Golden Eagles added a pivotal homer from Jake Hjelle in the eighth inning, keeping the game within reach heading into the ninth.
 
After finding themselves down again in the seventh, Thimsen delivered again with a 2-RBI double that drove in McCollow and Brayden Roybal to give them a 4-3 advantage.
 
The Golden Bears used late heroics in the final inning to claim the walk-off thriller. It all began with a lead-off walk from Koby McBroome, who ended up advancing to third following a single from Thimsen and a fielding error by the UMC center fielder. In the final at-bat with a 1-0 count, Noah Juliar lifted a fly ball to left field, driving McBroome home with a sacrifice fly to score the game-winning run.
 
UP NEXT
The Golden Bears will return to action next week for a four-game tilt against the Northern State Wolves in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The Thursday series opener is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Friday at 1:30 p.m. with game two following directly after. The series finale will take place on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.