ST. PAUL, Minn. - Redshirt freshman shortstop Hawken Hedlund went 2-3 with two home runs in a 5-4 extra-inning (9) game one and redshirt freshman pitcher Lou Walker tossed a shutout in a 5-0 game two win as Concordia-St. Paul (17-22, 12-15 NSIC) swept St. Cloud State (18-18, 14-9 NSIC) on Wednesday afternoon at Barnes Field.

Concordia remains at home this weekend with a scheduled three-game series against Northern State (11-18, 9-15 NSIC) at Barnes Field on Saturday and Sunday, with weather potentially shifting the series. Information about the weekend schedule will be posted when available.

Hedlund homered in his first two plate appearances of the day and would finish the doubleheader 2-4 with his second and third home runs of the season, a pair of walks and a pair of hit by pitch while driving in two and scoring three runs. 

After reaching base in the first 36 games of the season, junior first baseman Charlie Harms started a new streak today by going 3-7 with three runs, two walks and his 13th double of the year. 

Concordia allowed just three earned runs on 14 hits and five walks in 16 innings in the doubleheader sweep of the Huskies, while the offense 16 hits, six walks and four HBP. Concordia also only had one error on the day compared to six (three each game) by SCSU.

The sweep was Concordia's first doubleheader sweep of St. Cloud State since March 27, 2007 with CSP securing 5-3 and 3-0 wins on the road in St. Cloud. This marks the second doubleheader sweep in the all-time series in CSP's NCAA Division II-era (2000-present) and the first at home. 

The Golden Bears enter the weekend with Northern State having won four of their last five games while the Wolves snapped a four-game skid with a game two win at Jamestown today.

GAME 1: CSP 5, SCSU 4 (9 innings)
In the scheduled seven-inning first game, Concordia secured a walk-off win in the ninth inning in a game that featured a pair of ties and a pair of lead changes with Concordia's 2-0 lead after Hedlund's second-inning home run being the largest lead of the day.

Concordia scored first in the first inning as Kaden Johnson led off the game with a double off the top of the right center field fence and scored on Will Husemann's line drive to the left center gap with two outs. 

Hedlund grew the lead to 2-0 with his one-out homer in the second inning, giving CSP momentum against SCSU's top starting pitcher Bryce Brassfield, who was striking everyone out when the Golden Bears weren't peppering him for early game runs.

Entering the fourth inning, Brassfield had recorded nine consecutive outs via the strikeout, but during that same stretch, Concordia scored two runs off of him for CSP starter Caden Carsen who was making his first start of the year. 

Carsen had a strong first start, which was also his 12th pitching appearance. In his 11 relief outings, Carsen was no stranger to being stretched out, going 4.0 innings against Point Park (3/9) in a relief win while also pitching 3.0 innings three different times including last Thursday with three shutout innings in CSP's 10-6 win over UMD.

Today, Carsen went 4.0 innings, needing just 68 pitches which wasn't even a season-high for the veteran right hander. He allowed three runs on just two hits, striking out and walking four. 

SCSU got him for a run in the third and two in the fourth and when head coach Neil Lerner turned to the bullpen, Carsen left the Golden Bears in a strong position with a 3-3 tie.

Liam Bystol came out of the bullpen to relieve Carsen and worked two solid innings, allowing just one unearned run in the sixth inning which gave SCSU a 4-3 lead in the late innings. 

In the bottom of the inning, Concordia threatened right away as Husemann lined a shot up the middle off Brassman's back, beating out the play as Brassman rallied to get the deflection but couldn't get Husemann in time, and his throw allowed him to get to second. Chase McQuade followed by reaching on an error, as well, giving the Golden Bears runners on first and second with no outs. 

Concordia turned to the bench in a big spot, with Eli Nelson's team-best four sacrifice bunts coming to the plate and executing, moving the runners to second and third which allowed Jack Setterlund to bring home a run on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at four.

The Golden Bears would load the bases with two outs against Brassman, but weren't able to deliver the knock-out punch as Charlie Harms hit a sharp grounder up the middle that was right into the teeth of SCSU's shifted infield.

Brassman left the game after 6.0 innings, with Concordia scoring four times (three earned) on six hits. He struck out 10 and walked one on 113 pitches. 

The Golden Bears went to Cole Newell in the seventh, and he responded by pounding 14-straight pitches for strikes in two perfect innings including three outs on the first pitch.

Concordia threatened in the seventh with Gus Berger leading off with a hard hit ball through the right side and moved to second on Eric Berg's sacrifice, forcing SCSU to walk Husemann, but the Golden Bears left the winning run in scoring position. 

In the ninth, SCSU put the leadoff batter aboard with a hit through the left side of the infield, but Newell responded with back-to-back strikeouts and after a two-out hit allowed the Huskies to put two runners on with two outs, Newell recorded a three-pitch strikeout.

Harms led off the bottom of the ninth with a base hit to right center and advanced on a fielding error by the right fielder. Concordia bunted the winning run to third with Berger executing the play, and Berg followed by roping the game-winner to left.

Harms went 2-5 with the game-winning run and Husemann joined Hedlund with a 2-3 performance. Husemann scored one and knocked one in and had a walk. 

Newell earned the relief win, retiring nine of the 11 batters he faced in three shutout innings, striking out five on just 31 pitches with 27 strikes. 

Seth Luther took the loss in relief, working 2.1 innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits and a walk. 

Jonathan Pribula led SCSU offensively, going 2-3 with his first home run and a pair of RBIs while Hayden Frank went 1-5 with a solo homer, his second. 

GAME 2: CSP 5, SCSU 0
In game two, it was the Lou Walker show, as the redshirt freshman left hander chewed through the Huskies, facing 27 hitters and needing just 71 pitches with 49 strikes. 

Concordia scored early in the game that was converted to a seven-inning contest after the first game went into extra innings. In the second inning, Will Husemann opened by reaching on a Husky error and Hawken Hedlund followed by getting hit by pitch. With one out, Eli Nelson drove an RBI single to right field, moving Hedlund to second. 

The Huskies then attempted to back-pick Nelson at first, throwing the ball into right field which allowed Hedlund to score from second for a 2-0 lead. 

With Walker dealing, the lead was safe as the Huskies didn't get a runner into scoring position until the seventh inning, and it didn't happen until two outs with Walker retiring the next better on a comebacker that Walker raced for and beat the runner with a flip to first to end it.

Concordia added insurance runs with a Husemann RBI groundout in the third, a solo homer by Blake Eckmann in the fourth and an Eric Berg RBI single in the sixth.

Walker improved to 3-1 with the win, scattering six SCSU singles and a walk with a pair of strikeouts. 

Berg went 2-3 with an RBI and a walk, Harms was 1-2 with two walks, his 13th double and two runs scored and Eckmann's homer was his second of the season.

Brayden Simones took the loss in his first start of the year, falling to 0-1. He worked into the fourth inning, going 3.2 while allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk.