BISMARCK, N.D. - Despite multiple opportunities to break through, Concordia-St. Paul (20-27, 15-20 NSIC) wasn't able to salvage the Sunday series finale, falling 5-3 at UMary (30-15, 23-9 NSIC) at Bismarck Municipal Ballpark.

The Golden Bears enter the final weekend series for three games against Bemidji State (9-32, 6-24 NSIC) next Friday and Saturday looking to snap a five-game skid while UMary extends its winning streak to seven games.

Concordia's bullpen turned in an exceptional weekend, backing up Saturday's doubleheader effort by combining for 5.2 innings on Sunday, allowing just one run on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts. 

Right hander Cole Newell turned in his longest outing of the season, entering in the third inning and working 5.0 innings, allowing a run on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts on 92 pitches. Daniel Musgjerd and Justin Benjamin each recorded an out in the eighth.

In the series, the CSP bullpen provided 12.0 innings of work, allowing two runs on nine hits, five walks and seven strikeouts. 

The Golden Bears had plenty of opportunities, putting runners in scoring position in eight of the nine innings. CSP scored its runs in the first and fifth innings when the top of the lineup reached with no outs in both frames.

In the first, Kaden Johnson and Charlie Harms had back-to-back hits to start the game, with Eric Berg establishing a new school record with his 11th career sacrifice fly in just his sophomore year to score Johnson. 

Mary responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning and one more in the third against spot-starter and long relief specialist Caden Carsen, who worked the first 2.1 innings and took the loss, falling to 2-3. 

In the fifth, Johnson and Harms started the inning by getting on base again with back-to-back walks, with Gus Berger following suit to load the bases. Berg drove in his second run with a fielder's choice groundout, and Hawken Hedlund followed with a sacrifice fly to cut the margin to 4-3.

But the Golden Bears came up empty with runners on first and third in the second inning, weren't able to score McQuade after a leadoff double in the sixth, couldn't bring home Johnson and Harms who led off the seventh with back-to-back singles in the seventh, leaving runners on second and third with one out - the go-ahead runner in scoring position, and left the tying runner on second in the eighth and a runner on second in the ninth.

Johnson and Harms went 2-4 with a walk, with Johnson scoring twice and adding a stolen base while Harms scored once in the game. Berger was 1-3 with a pair of walks and a double and Berg was 0-4 but drove in two runs. 

Johnson now has 16 stolen bases, while Berger has 14 doubles and Berg has seven sacrifice flies and 42 RBIs. Harms has reached base safely in 45 out of 47 games on the season.