SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (21-17, 13-16 NSIC) dropped both games of this afternoon's doubleheader to nationally ranked No. 16 Augustana (32-6, 23-4 NSIC) on the road at Ronken Field.
 
The Golden Bears and Vikings will square off one last time in the three-game series, with the finale slated to take place tomorrow at 12 p.m. from Ronken Field.
 
GAME ONE: CSP 1, AUGIE 8
Concordia struggled to find their offensive rhythm in the opening game of the doubleheader with only three total hits that came from Nick Thimsen, Noah Juliar and Jack Greenlun, as they dropped the game to the Vikings, 8-1.
 
On the mound, Korey Dahlberg (4-3) made his seventh appearance of the season. The junior from Farmington, Minnesota battled through 4.2 innings with a pair of strikeouts and only two walked batters in the loss. Andrew Boeser added his seventh strikeout of the season from the bullpen during his ninth relief appearance.
 
Augustana struck first after the NSIC leader in home runs, Jack Hines, hit a 2-run shot to center field in the second inning. CSP responded in the next half inning with their lone run of the game after Jaden Werner crossed the plate with a fielder's choice RBI during Mason Nadolney's at-bat.
 
However, the Vikings regained their early momentum with six unanswered runs highlighted by a 2-run home run by Luke Ballweg and a solo shot from Parker Mooney to claim the seven-run victory.
 
GAME TWO: CSP 4, Augie 14 (Seven Innings)
The Golden Bears found themselves down six runs in the early stages of game two but battled to bring the game within three runs as late as the fifth. However, a seven-run seventh inning from Augie propelled them to the 14-4 run-rule victory.
 
Gavin Rusch (3-3) made his seventh season start for the Navy and Gold. The junior righty collected 4.0 innings with two strikes and one walk in the loss. Greenlun and Matt Sherman contributed with a strikeout apiece from the bullpen.
 
In the opening inning, Concordia struck first with Bennett McCollow's fifth home run of the 2024 campaign that traveled out of the park down the left field line. Augustana answered right back with a home run of their own from Joe Kolbeck in the bottom half.
 
The Vikings tacked onto their lead with a solid four-run second inning and two-run third inning that was highlighted by a 2-run homer from Tate Meiners to take a commanding 7-1 lead.
 
In the fourth inning, Nick Thimsen collected his 11th homer of the season, which ranks tied for fourth in the NSIC, that sailed over the fence in left center. The senior has now homered 25 times in his career.
 
Kal Brohmer added to CSP the momentum in the following inning with a lead off infield single to reach the 100-hit milestone before scoring the Golden Bears' third run of the game via balk. Later in the fourth, a sacrifice fly from Justin McGuigan drove in Nadolney to make the score 7-4.
 
After neither team collected a run in the sixth inning, the Vikings scored seven runs on six hits to secure the doubleheader and series with the 14-4 final.