DULUTH, Minn. - Bennett McCollow's cycle highlighted the Golden Bears (26-20, 18-19 NSIC) road doubleheader sweep over Minnesota Duluth (16-30, 12-25 NSIC) on Tuesday afternoon at Wade Stadium. The Golden Bears bested the Bulldogs 12-7 in game one and 11-7 in game two.
 
McCollow became the first member of the CSP baseball team to hit for the cycle since Eric Fasnacht accomplished the feat against Winona State in 2016. The Bloomington, Minnesota native's historic afternoon also included nine hits, six runs and three RBIs.
 
As a team, Concordia tallied 23 runs on 24 hits. Noah Juliar also had an impressive showing at the plate with five RBIs, four hits and four runs. Bryce Nelson, who collected three hits against the Bulldogs, notched his 100th career hit in game one, while Jaden Werner added a pair of doubles, RBIs and walks.
 
CSP now holds a 34-30 all-time record against UMD on the diamond and is the winner of four straight in the series.
 
The Golden Bears will conclude the regular season against the Sioux Falls Cougars with a three-game home series this weekend at Barnes Field. Action is set to begin on Friday at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., and will conclude on Saturday at 12 p.m. with Senior Day recognition following shortly after the game.
 
GAME ONE: CSP 12, UMD 7
Game one was a back-and-forth slugfest between the two Minnesota schools. Minnesota Duluth controlled the game in the early portions, but eight runs in the final two innings was ultimately the deciding factor in Concordia's five-run victory.
 
Reece Piontek climbed the hill first for the Golden Bears to begin the afternoon. He finished with two strikeouts in 3.0 innings of work to pick up the no-decision, while Eric Lundell (5-2) tallied his fifth win of the season in the Navy and Gold.
 
The Golden Bears found themselves in an early jam after the Bulldogs struck first with a trio of runs in the second inning but responded strongly with a two-RBI single from Juliar to cut the deficit to one run.
 
Following the Bulldogs reclaiming the lead in the bottom of the fifth, CSP rallied off five runs in the sixth inning that was highlighted by RBI doubles from Juliar and Koby McBroome to put them in front, 9-6.
 
McCollow's sixth home run of the season sparked a three-run seventh to extend the lead to six runs, and Matt Sherman closed the show on the bump to help secure the 12-7 win in game one.
 
GAME TWO: CSP 11, UMD 7
Game two saw one of the most outstanding individual showings in program history, with McCollow securing the cycle that helped the Golden Bears create a lead that the Bulldogs could not overcome despite late efforts.
 
On the bump, Jack Nicklaus made his second start of the season, collecting a team-leading three strikeouts in the 4.0 innings for the no-decision. Jack Greenlun (1-0), the do-it-all player, tallied his first career win after battling 2.2 innings from the bullpen.
 
In the opening inning, after a double from McCollow put runners in scoring position, CSP struck first with back-to-back sacrifice fly RBIs from Nick Thimsen and Werner to take a two-run lead. They added to their lead two innings later with an RBI single from McCollow and Thimsen's second sacrifice fly to go up 5-0.
 
McCollow collected his second homer of the afternoon in the fifth inning in the lead off spot prior to Werner blasting a double and Juliar adding an RBI single to give CSP their largest lead of the game to that point at 7-1. The cycle was completed in the sixth inning after McCollow sailed a two-out triple to the right field wall and beat the tag at the third base bag.
 
Kal Brohmer and Nelson added two insurance runs for CSP in the top of the ninth inning with an RBI single and sacrifice bunt, while Korey Dahlberg made his 11th appearance of the season (first in relief) to assist with claiming the 11-7 victory.