ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team (21-20, 13-19 NSIC) dropped a midweek doubleheader to Minnesota State(28-14, 23-8 NSIC) from Bob Barnes Field on Wednesday afternoon. The Mavericks claimed the opening game 10-4  and secured the sweep with a 17-6 run-rule victory in game two.
 
Nick Thimsen reached a pivotal milestone with his 200th career hit in the Navy and Gold against the Mavericks in game one. He finished the afternoon with six hits in eight plate appearances and recorded a pair of RBIs.
 
Noah Juliar, Koby McBroome and Jack Greenlun also provided fireworks from the plate with home runs to contribute to the Golden Bears' 17-hit afternoon.
 
Minnesota State held an edge in extra-base hits with eight home runs and four doubles in their 23-hit afternoon. In addition, they sat down 23 Bears and held CSP to a combined 10 earned runs.
 
The Golden Bears will hit the road this weekend to clash with the Bemidji State Beavers (1-41, 0-32 NSIC) at BSU Field in Bemidji, Minnesota. The three-game series have been altered  for the doubleheader and will now begin on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., and it will conclude with the single-game finale on Sunday at noon.
 
GAME ONE: CSP 4, MSU 10
The early stages saw a back-and-forth between the two clubs before the Mavericks were able to pull away late with six unanswered runs down the stretch.
 
On the bump, Recce Piontek (1-3) made his ninth start on the bump this season. The Green Bay, Wisconsin native collected four strikeouts in 3.1 innings and was charged with his third loss of the season. Matt Sherman matched Piontek's four strikeouts from the bullpen, while Greenlun collected a pair of strikeouts in one inning of work.
 
CSP opened the game strong after McBroome tallied his third home run of the season in the lead off spot in the bottom of the first inning. Later in the first, a fielder's choice allowed Bennett McCollow to score, extending their lead to 2-0.
 
Minnesota State responded with a four-run second inning that was highlighted by a home run from designated hitter Louis Magers, who finished the game with two homers that were key to their offensive production.
 
In the third inning, the Golden Bears tied the game with a pair of runs after Thimsen and Juliar collected RBI singles to tie the game a 4-4. Thimsen etched his name in the history books with his 200th hit in the seventh with a base hit that lasered through the left side.
 
However, powered by a five-run inning that displayed a grand slam from Magers, the Mavericks were able to hang on to claim the 10-4 victory in game one.
 
GAME TWO: CSP 6, MSU 17 (Eight Innings)
Minnesota State carried their momentum from the opening game into the doubleheader finale with six home runs to secure the sweep with a 17-6 final in eight innings.
 
Sophomore Jack Nicklaus (1-2) made his first career start on the mound for the Golden Bears. The Eden Prairie, Minnesota native battled for 4.1 innings and led the team with four K's in the losing decision.
 
The long ball played a significant role in the opening two frames. MSU struck first with a two-run home run from Ryan Wickman, who tallied two in the game. Juliar responded with a two-run home run of his own in the second inning to level the game at 2-2.
 
Despite being down big late, Concordia added four runs in the latter half of the game, including Greenlun's first career home run that kept the game alive in the seventh.
 
However, a seven-run seventh and a three-run eighth, along with 10 hits and clean fielding helped the Mavericks secure the run-rule victory.