WINONA, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (21-14, 13-14 NSIC) split with Winona State (14-23, 11-16 NSIC) on Thursday at Loughrey Field. The Golden Bears won the first game, 5-3, and lost the second game, 4-3. 

Senior shortstop Jaden Werner led the Golden Bears with two hits and three RBIs combined in both games. Junior outfielder Noah Juliar hit the lone home run of the day for CSP with a solo shot in game two for his fifth of the year.

Nick Thimsen and Will Husemann tallied three hits each. Junior Kal Brohmer tallied a hit and scored a run in both games. Senior catcher Justin McGuigan had two hits and two RBIs combined. 

Junior pitcher Reece Piontek picked up his fourth victory of the season after starting game one. Piontek threw four strikeouts while only giving up five hits and one earned run. Eric Lundell pitched 1.2 innings in relief to seal the victory. 

The Golden Bears are back in action this weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota against No. 16 Augustana (30-6, 21-4 NSIC). Concordia-St. Paul will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1:30 p.m. and finish the three-game series on Sunday at noon. 

Game One: CSP 5, WSU 3

The Golden Bears struck first in the opening inning. After Koby McBroome and Thimsen singled, Werner brought McBroome in on a fielder's choice to third base. Werner got the ball in play after three foul balls in the at-bat. 

CSP scored again in the third inning with the top of the order up to bat. McBroome singled, Bennett McCollow walked and Thimsen walked to start the inning. Werner tallied his second RBI with a sacrifice fly to left field, putting the Golden Bears up 2-0.

Concordia scored its third run in the fifth inning after Thimsen singled and advanced the bases after a steal and an error. Thimsen was brought home on a wild pitch, extending the lead to 3-0. 

After Winona scored in the sixth inning, the Golden Bears added two insurance runs in the seventh inning. Werner was hit by a pitch, and Brohmer brought him in with an RBI single. Bryce Nelson and McGuigan each singled scoring Brohmer to lead 5-1.

The Warriors tallied four hits, setting up a final-inning rally that scored two runs. Lundell battled to win the game by getting the final two outs via a flyout and a strikeout. 

Thimsen led the hitting efforts with two hits. McBroome scored twice with one hit. Werner tallied two RBIs.

Piontek picked up the win to improve his record to 4-5 on the season. He pitched 5.1 innings while giving up five hits and throwing four strikeouts. He only walked one batter on a hit-by-pitch. Lundell pitched 1.2 innings with three strikeouts and 0 walks. 

Both teams tallied nine hits each, but the Warriors had three errors compared to one for the Golden Bears. CSP was walked seven times in the game compared to only once for the Warriors. Concordia left 11 runners on base after leaving the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings.

Game Two: CSP 3, WSU 4

The Warriors scored two runs in the opening inning. Winona State's Connor Weed reached on a hit-by-pitch. Weed went for a steal at second base, causing an errant throw into center field, bringing Weed in for the opening run. The Warriors scored on an RBI double later in the inning. 

Juliar hit a solo homer to lead off the second inning, cutting the Warrior lead down to 2-1. Winona State answered later in the bottom of the third to take a three-run advantage. 

After two scoreless innings, CSP got on the board again after an RBI single from Werner in the top of the fifth inning. The score remained at 4-2 until the top of the eighth inning. Brohmer hit a single and advanced on a passed ball, leading to an RBI single from McGuigan.

The Golden Bears had one last chance in the top of the ninth after holding Winona State scoreless for five innings. McCollow singled and Thimsen reached on a fielder's choice, but the last two batters struck out to end the game.

Werner led CSP with two hits and an RBI. Juliar and McGuigan each finished with a hit and an RBI. Juliar's home run was the game's only multiple-base hit for the Golden Bears. 

Senior pitcher Logan Shaffer picked up his first loss of the season giving up all four runs of the game in 3.0 innings pitched. He threw two strikeouts. Sophomore Jack Nicklaus pitched 4.0 innings throwing six strikeouts while giving up three hits. Matt Sherman pitched the final inning, throwing two strikeouts. 

CSP outhit Winona State 10-8 and committed two more errors than the Warriors. Winona State threw 10 strikeouts compared to CSP's nine strikeouts. The Warriors walked the Golden Bears once. Concordia-St. Paul left 11 runners on base compared to 10 from the Warriors.