A Gem + Back-To-Back Long Balls = Sweep

MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/11/22)--- Concordia used a complete game, 2-hitter from freshman pitcher Jacoby Nold to win the opener against Hamline, and then erupted for 11 runs in Game 2 as they swept the Pipers 2-0 and 11-4.

The two wins give the Cobbers three victories in their last four games, and brings their conference record to the .500 level. CC is now 8-7 overall and 3-3 in MIAC play. Hamline gets swept for the first time in conference play this year and falls to 7-13 in all games and 1-3 in league play.

Nold, who was making his first start since Mar. 7, stymied the Hamline offense in Game 1 with a mix of pin-point fastballs and solid off-speed pitches. He didn't concede a hit until the fifth inning and didn't allow a runner past first base in the 7.0 innings. Nold hasn't allowed a run in the past 13.0 innings and lowered his season ERA to 2.00. He only struck out one batter, but kept the HU batters off-balance and got nine fly outs and 10 ground ball outs.

Nold's pitching gem marks the first time a Cobber pitcher has thrown a complete-game shutout since the Mar. 10, 2020 when Austin Ver Steeg went the distance in a 2-0 win over Pitt.-Greensburg. 

The Cobbers' lone runs in the game came in the third and fifth innings. In the third, CC put runners on second and third after Jake Christianson led off with a walk and then Andy Gravdahl came through with a single to center field that moved Christianson to second base. Thomas Horan put down a sacrifice bunt that put the runners on second and third, and then Matt Gruber's ground out to second scored Christianson with the game-winning run.

Gravdahl and Horan combined for the second run when they went back-to-back with 2-out doubles in the fifth frame.

The Cobbers outhit Hamline 5-2 in the opener with Gravdahl matching the Piper's offensive output by going 2-for-3 with a run scored.

The second game was a polar opposite as the two teams combined for 23 hits and 15 runs.

Hamline took a brief 3-run lead when they scored their only four runs of Game 2 in the third inning. Concordia responded with five runs in the bottom of the third, a single run in the fourth, three more in the sixth and the final score in seventh.

The biggest hits of the Cobbers' 10-run unanswered streak came in the Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe and Carter Mulcahy went back-to-back with home runs. Concordia entered the game with two total home runs on the season, and Henkemeyer-Howe and Mulcahy matched that total in two at-bats.

Concordia had four players with two hits in the finale. Henkemeyer-Howe went 2-for-4, Mulcahy was 2-for-3, Justin Kloster went 2-fpr-5 with a pair of doubles and Christianson was 2-for-4.

The Cobbers used four pitchers in the nightcap. Freshman Alex Rudquist was on the mound for the first 4.2 innings and allowed only one earned run on six hits and struck out three. Luke Levasseur entered in the fifth frame and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the year. Gruber and Dylan Inniger both pitched scoreless innings to close out the game.

UP NEXT: Concordia, who had its game at Mayville State on Tuesday, Apr. 12 cancelled, is scheduled to host St. Scholastica on Wednesday, Apr. 13 at 2:30 p.m.  

Concordia vs. Hamline Highlights