Concordia University St. Paul Athletics

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul (22-27, 17-20 NSIC) picked up a pair of wins on Friday, sweeping a doubleheader 10-2 and 11-7 against Bemidji State (9-37, 6-28 NSIC) at Barnes Field.

Concordia did its part in securing a postseason berth, needing three wins and some help this weekend to make the NSIC Tournament field, but Minot State scored a pair of wins against Sioux Falls to eliminate CSP, Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State.

The Golden Bears will host the season finale on Saturday at noon, honoring its six-member senior and graduating class against Bemidji State at Barnes Field. 

Sophomore right fielder Eric Berg had a big day, going 2-3 with two solo homers in game one, and went 2-5 with three stolen bases, two runs and an RBI in game two. Junior center fielder Kaden Johnson homered in each game, going 3-7 with two walks, five runs, four RBIs, his 12th double while pushing his season home run total to 10. Junior first baseman Charlie Harms also had a hit in each game and has reached base in 47 of 49 games this season, adding a three-run homer in game one. Harms and Berg have each homered four times this year.

Berg wasn't the only Golden Bear to provide three stolen bases as junior third baseman Will Husemann matched him in game two as he had a productive doubleheader, going 3-6 with two walks, three runs, his fourth double and three stolen bases.

Berg now has 12 stolen bases with Husemann reaching double-digits with 10 on the season. CSP stole seven bases in game two.

Concordia starting pitching also had a stellar day with Ollie Yuhas (5-4) cruising to a complete game win in game one (7 innings) and Tyus Smith (3-3) matching with a 7-inning effort of his own in game two, with each starter securing the win and preserving the bullpen for the finale on Saturday.

GAME 1: CSP 10, BSU 2
Eric Berg set the tone in game one by launching a towering solo home run onto Carlander Field next door in the second inning. Although BSU tied the game in the third, Charlie Harms stepped on the tie immediately in the bottom of the third with a three-run lined shot to right in the bottom of the inning for a 4-1 lead. 

That's all Yuhas needed as he cruised with three 1-2-3 innings (2nd, 4th, 5th) and pitched around a pair of two-out walks in the sixth  and gave up an unearned run in the seventh.

He scattered five hits - four singles and a double - over 7.0 innings, allowing one earned run (two total) with five strikeouts against three walks. He closes the book on his season and career with the Golden Bears with a 5-4 record in 11 starts including a pair of complete games, lowering his ERA to 6.07. In two seasons at CSP, he held a 6-4 record and a 5.69 ERA in 17 total appearances.

The Golden Bears would add some insurance for him throughout the game, putting up three consecutive three-run innings as Jack Setterlund brought home Will Husemann on a sacrifice bunt, setting up Kaden Johnson's two-run homer in the fourth.

In the fifth, Berg homered to center with one out with Nolan Swenson drawing a two-out walk. Husemann added a double, sending pinch-runner Nick Carlson to third and Chase McQuade delivered a two-run single up the middle for a 10-1 lead. 

While Berg was 2-3 with two solo homers, he was joined in two-hit performances by Husemann who was 2-3 with his fourth double and two runs, and McQuade who was 2-2 with two runs, two RBIs and a walk.

Johnson was also on base twice from the top of the lineup, going 1-3 with his ninth homer, two runs, two RBIs and a walk while Harms was 1-4 with a three-run homer behind him. 

GAME 2: CSP 11, BSU 7
The second game had some back-and-forth action in the opening innings and it was CSP who started on top with a two-run first inning with Kaden Johnson setting the tone with a leadoff double. Although the Golden Bears started with an extra-base hit, the runs in the inning would be manufactured through hustle as Harms would strike out but reach on a wild pitch, moving Johnson to third. Gus Berger then grounded into a double play, allowing Johnson to score and empty the bases with two outs. Eric Berg then singled and stole second, opening first for Will Husemann who walked, with the duo then executing a double-steal with Berg scoring on the throwing error.

Concordia would score two in the first, but left runners on second and third.

In the second inning, Bemidji State took its first lead of the series on a three-run homer launched to right center by Noah Drusch, his first of two three-run homers on the day, giving him 13 on the season. 

Johnson added his second extra-base hit of the game, second homer of the day and 10th of the season with one out in the second to tie the game at 3-3.

CSP and BSU then traded scoreless frames through the fifth inning as CSP starter Tyus Smith settled into a groove, retiring 12-straight Beavers after the home run with perfect third, fourth and fifth innings, finally allowing a leadoff single in the sixth before retiring the next three.

In the bottom of the sixth, CSP got to BSU starter Castle Huggard (1-5) who had similarly settled into a groove, with 1-2-3 third and fifth inning, only allowing a two-base error that CSP stranded with one out in the fourth.

In the sixth, Chase McQuade's one-out single got things started for the Golden Bears, who loaded the bases on an HBP by Nick Carlson and single to right by Eli Nelson. With two outs, the rally started as Johnson walked and Blake Eckmann was hit by pitch to score a pair of runs. After a pitching change, CSP continued the rally against the BSU bullpen as Gus Berger singled in a pair with Berg and Husemann following with run-scoring singles.

Another pitching change followed, and Husemann and Berg executed their second double-steal to put runners on second and third with two outs for Chase McQuade who came through with a two-run triple to center as CSP scored eight runs with two outs against three BSU pitchers. 

Armed with an 8-run lead, Smith returned to the mound after the long layoff and retired three more, ending his day by setting down 18 of 19 Beavers from the second through seventh innings after the second-inning home run. 

Smith moved to 3-3 with the seven-inning gem, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts. He worked at least six innings, allowing four earned runs or less in each of his final four starts of the season with a 15-4 SO-BB ratio in 28.0 innings, lowering his ERA from 6.98 to 4.75 in the process. He needed just 75 pitches in his final start. 

Liam Bystol worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning, striking out a pair on just 13 pitches and Ryley Wuebkers closed it out with BSU returning to the scoreboard with Drusch's second three-run homer of the contest.

Johnson went 2-4 with a walk, scored three times, had his 12th double and 10th home run of the season. He extends his team-leading total to 61 runs. Berg was 2-5 with two runs, an RBI and three steals followed by Husemann who was 1-3 wiht a pair of walks, a run, an RBI and three stolen bases. McQuade followed them by going 2-3 with a walk, a run and a two-run triple. Nelson also had a two-hit effort (2-5, R) and Berger's two RBIs give him a team-best 52 on the season.