Third Straight Split Opens 10-Game Week

ST. PAUL, Minn. (5/02/2022)---Concordia split its third straight conference doubleheader on Monday in St. Paul. The Cobbers lost 5-4 in the opener at Macalester and then used a 9-hit, 10-run offensive attack to grab the second game 10-5.

The continuation of the "win one, lose one" theme keeps the Cobbers' MIAC record at .500 for the season. CC is now 6-6 against league competition. Concordia is 11-10 in all games.

Macalester (11-20, 7-11 MIAC) won the opener in the first three innings of play. They posted three runs in the bottom of the first and then tacked on the eventual game-winning runs in the third. The Cobbers trailed 5-1 heading into the fifth inning, but then got a 3-run long ball from freshman Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe in the top of the fifth to get to within one run at 5-4.

Concordia would never be able to come up with the game-tying score in the sixth or seventh innings as they finished the game with only a single in the final two frames.

Both teams had seven hits in Game 1. Henkemeyer-Howe led the Cobber offense by going 3-for-4 with three RBI. The home run was his team-leading third of the season.

Henkemeyer-Howe was the only CC player with more than one hi in the opener. The Top 4 in the Cobber batting order combined for six of the team's seven hits. Thomas Horan, Andy Gravdahl and Matt Gruber all had a single hit with Gruber coming through with the other RBI for CC when he singled up the middle to score Gravdahl in the third inning.

Ashwin Stratton and Kyle Cluff combined to give the Cobbers 7.0 innings on the bump. Stratton got the start and went 3.0 innings. He allowed four earned runs on six hits and struck out four. Cluff entered the game in the top of the fourth and went 3.0 innings. He didn't allow a run and gave up only one hit and also struck out four.

Concordia scored the final six runs of Game 2. They opened the scoring with three runs in the first, but then fell behind 5-4 in the fourth after the Scots posted three runs in the second and single scores in the third and fourth frames.

The Cobbers got the game-winning run in the fifth after they loaded the bases, and Henkemeyer-Howe walked to tie the game at 5-5. Carter Mulcahy was then hit by a pitch to earn the game-winning RBI and push the score to 6-5.

Concordia tacked on insurance runs in the seventh and ninth to push the final score line to 10-5. Horan tripled to center field to lead off the seventh, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Gravdahl. Mulcahy came up with the big hit in the ninth when he doubled to right field to score Gruber and Gravdahl.

Horan posted the only multiple-hit game in the finale. He went 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot and scored three times. The Cobbers Top 6 batters in the order combined for eight of the nine hits.

The Cobbers had three pitchers cover the 9.0 innings in Game 2 with junior Luke Levasseur getting the win from the middle position. He went 4.0 innings, allowed one earned run in four hits.

Mitch Porter made his sixth start of the year and pitched the first 3.0 innings. He gave up four runs, but only two were earned. Gruber finished off the final 2.0 innings and didn't allow a run on only two hits.

HIT MAN HENKEMEYER-HOWE: Henkemeyer-Howe had four hits on the day and finished the two games by going 4-for-7 with seven RBI. He continues to lead the team in hitting with a .456 average, and his 19 RBI is second on the squad. Henkemeyer-Howe is second in the MIAC in average and has now hit safely in 16 of the 18 games he has played. The 3-hit first game was his 10th multiple hit contest of the year. He also had multiple-RBI games in both contests and is now tied for the team lead in multiple-RBI games at six.

HIT STREAKS: Horan and Gravdahl both had hits in each game and both extended their season-best hit streaks to 10 games. Horan's 4-for-8 day upped his average to .338 and he has now reached base safely in all 21 games CC has played this year.

UP NEXT: Concordia will one of its two off days in the final week of the regular season. They will return to action when they host St. Mary's on Wednesday, May 4 at 1 p.m.