Cobbers Drop Two In MIAC Opener

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (4/02/24)---After a 17-day break between games, Concordia opened up MIAC play at St. Olaf on Tuesday. The Cobbers staged a 3-run rally to tie the game in the sixth inning of Game 1 before falling 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh and then couldn't string hits together in the nightcap and lost 4-0.

Game 1: Concordia 3, St. Olaf 4
The Cobbers scored all three of their runs in Game 1 in the sixth inning. St. Olaf was able to take a 3-0 lead after scoring a pair of runs in the second frame and then plated a single run in the fourth. The two runs in the second were scored without a hit as the Oles coaxed four walks in the inning and had a pair of fly balls that moved runners up a base.

Concordia's comeback inning started when Caiden Kjelstrom walked and then moved to third base on a Thomas Horan single. Wyatt Gunkel would bring in Kjelstrom and Horan after Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe was hit by a pitch that loaded the bases. Henkemeyer-Howe was able to score when Chance Bye reached on a fielding error on a ground ball to the second baseman.

The game stayed deadlocked at 3-3 until the bottom of the seventh when the Oles scored the game-winning run on a single, wild pitch, stolen base and then a single up the middle.

The Cobbers outhit the Oles 5-4 in the first game. CC had five different players collect hits. Besides Horan and Gunkel, Kjelstrom, Dylan Gertken and Justin Kloster also came through with singles in the contest.

Freshman Ben Trutwin got the start in the conference opener and went 4.0 innings. He only allowed two hits and gave up two earned runs while striking out a pair. Dylan Erholtz finished off the last 2.1 innings and gave up two hits and the one run.

Game 2: Concordia 0, St. Olaf 4
St. Olaf used the same scoring plan in the finale to post its second straight 4-run game. They were able to score two runs in one inning and then added a pair of single-score frames to record the four scores.

The Cobbers' best chance to score came in the second inning when freshman Ben Shumansky hit a 1-out double down the left-field line. He advanced to third on a ground out and was stranded on an inning-ending fly out to right field.  

CC also had a runner in scoring position in the third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth innings.   

Concordia finished Game 2 with four hits. Like the opener, CC didn't have a player with a multiple-hit game.

Kjelstrom and Horan were the only Cobbers to have a hit in each game.