Gravdahl Breaks Triples Record In Winona

WINONA, Minn. (4/18/21)---Concordia capped off its 5-game road weekend by dropping a trio of games in Winona against St. Mary's. The Cobbers lost 10-3 and 8-7 on Saturday and then 11-1 on Sunday.

The three losses drops the Cobbers' overall record to 9-10 on the year. CC is now 3-6 in conference play. The Cardinals are now 16-8 in all games and 10-5 in the MIAC.

GAME 1 RECAP: Concordia started the weekend by giving up 10 runs on 13 hits and falling 10-3 in the opening game of the DH on Saturday.

The Cobbers actually got on the board first with a single run in the opening inning. Ben Swanson hit a 2-out single up the middle and then Andy Gravdahl came through with a run-scoring triple. The triple was Gravdahl's MIAC leading seventh of the year which breaks the Cobber school record for triples in a season. He also leads all of NCAA Division III in that stat category.   

Concordia then allowed 10 consecutive runs before getting two back in the top of the seventh. Justin Kloster led off with a double to right field. He advanced to third on a ground ball out and scored when Matt Gruber was retired on a ground ball to first base. Sean McGuire brought home the final run of the game with a 2-out double to left field.

The Cobbers had seven hits in the opener. McGuire had the only multiple-hit game for CC as he went 2-for-4 with an RBI. McGuire finished the weekend with a .418 average which leads the team and is second in the MIAC. The other news in the game was that Gruber didn't get a hit and had his 15-game hit streak come to an end.    

Mitch Porter and Nathan Leitner combined to pitch the 6.0 innings. Porter got the start and went the first 3.1 innings. Leitner finished off the final 2.1 frames and didn't give up a run, allowed only two hits and struck out a pair.

GAME 2 RECAP: The finale on Saturday was the closest of the three and provided the late-inning drama for the weekend. The Cobbers took a 6-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning but then allowed four runs in the eighth and the game-tying run in the ninth. Concordia grabbed a 7-6 lead with a run in the 10th inning but then SMU countered with two in the bottom of the inning to win 8-7.

Both teams came away with 11 hits in Game 2 on Saturday and the Cobbers were aided by five Cardinal errors. Gruber returned to the hit column and led the offense by going 3-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI. Thomas Horan was 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI while Toby Sayles went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Penske pitched the first 7.0 innings for Concordia and limited St. Mary's to one run and six hits. He struck out two and induced 14 fly ball outs.

GAME 3 RECAP: Sunday was a tough day for the Cobber offense as they were limited to a season-low two hits in the 11-1 loss. Like the first game on Saturday, Concordia came away with the game's first run but then gave up 10 consecutive runs.

Concordia opened the scoring when Canaan Fagerland started the second with a single. He advanced to second on a passed ball and then took third when Penske sacrificed him and Horan, who got on board with a walk, to third and second. Fagerland scored on a ground-ball out RBI from Sayles.

The only other hit for the Cobbers in Game 3 came in the fifth inning when Sayles singled through the right side. The Cobbers were down 4-1 at the time and eventually loaded the bases with two outs but couldn't come up with a key hit and stranded all three runners.

The Cobbers used five pitchers on Sunday. Sophomore opener Ashwin Stratton was the most effective as he went the first 2.0 innings and retired all six batters he faced. His scoreless outing dropped his season ERA to 1.50.

UP NEXT: Concordia will have the week off before returning to action next weekend when they play at Macalester for a DH on Saturday, Apr. 24 and then return home to host the Scots in a single game on Sunday, Apr. 25 at 1 p.m.