LOGANSPORT, Ind. - Concordia-St. Paul opened its baseball season on Sunday afternoon, falling 8-7 and 9-3 in a doubleheader against Tiffin University (Ohio) (3-1). The pregame included heavy field maintenance and snow removal, although the day would end up sunny with temperatures in the mid-40s at Logansport High School.

Concordia's pitchers ran into a hot bat, as Andrew Fairbrother went 4-for-8 with three home runs and nine RBIs in the twin bill. 

Will Husemann went 2-8 with a home run, two runs and two RBIs and Noah Juliar also had a pair of hits (2-7) with a double, run and RBI. Charlie Harms went 1-4, drove in a run, scored a run and walked twice and didn't strike, getting on base at a .500 clip in the doubleheader. 

Concordia had 16 different position players enter on day one of the season, and the club will look for its first win of 2025 on Monday with a 10 a.m. (CT) start time against the Dragons.

GAME ONE: Tiffin 8, Concordia 7
It was a rough start for Concordia, as Fairbrother slugged a first-inning grand slam before an out was recorded.

But from there, senior right handed starting pitcher Korey Dahblerg settled in, putting up three consecutive scoreless frames, striking out four while allowing four runs on six hits and two walks in 4.0 innings in his season debut.

His ability to regroup allowed the Golden Bears to claw back into the contest, manufacturing two runs in the second inning on a bases loaded walk to Kaden Johnson followed by a balk to score Charlie Harms.

In the third, the Golden Bears added two more runs to tie the game, this time on one swing as Will Husemann connected for his first home run of the season to left field. 

In the sixth, Concordia claimed its first lead of the season on a Bennett McCollow sacrifice fly, scoring Tomas Lee, with two runs scoring on a two-out error later in the inning for a 7-4 lead.

With Fritz Meyer on in relief of Dahlberg and working two scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth, it was Fairbrother who came through in the clutch in the bottom of the seventh, slugging a game-tying three-run homer. 

Tiffin would scratch across the walk-off run later in the inning on a wild pitch. 

Fairbrother's two home runs produced seven RBIs in the 8-7 contest. Five different Golden Bears had a hit in the game. Kal Brohmer (1-3, BB), Trett Joles (1-3, BB) and Tomas Lee (0-2, BB, HBP) each reached base twice and Lee swiped his first stolen base of the season.

Jonathon Ray didn't factor into the decision for Tiffin, allowing four earned runs in four innings, striking out five while allowing four hits and three walks. Brett Nicodemus worked the seventh inning and earned the win, retiring all three Golden Bears he faced.

GAME TWO: Tiffin 9, Concordia 3
Game two started similar as the first, with Fairbrother leaving the yard in the first inning, but this time the damage was limited to a 2-run homer. 

Concordia got a run back in the second on an RBI single by Charlie Harms, scoring Will Husemann, but the Dragons picked up solo homers in the fourth and fifth innings to build a 4-1 lead into the middle of the contest.

Golden Bear senior starting pitcher Gavin Rusch worked his way into the sixth inning but was forced from the contest with the bases loaded and two outs. All three of his inherited runners would score as Tiffin blew the game open with a 3-run double as part of a 5-run inning and a 9-1 lead.

In the ninth, Concordia rallied with Noah Juliar's infield single scoring Kal Brohmer, who walked and advanced to third on Eric Berg's pinch-hit double. Berg scored on Husemann's ground-out double play. 

Liam Bystol finished the last two innings for CSP's bullpen, striking out the side in the eighth. He worked a pair of shutout innings, allowing a hit and a walk. 

Rusch was tagged with the loss, working 5.2 innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts to just two walks. 

Five different Golden Bears picked up hits with Juliar (1-3, BB) and Harms (1-1, BB) each reaching twice.