April 19, 2025
Season-Long Trends Continue At Bethel
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (4/19/20)---A pair of season-long trends continued for the Cobbers in their doubleheader at Bethel.
The first trend that continued was Concordia's ability to end long-time streaks. The second was another split in conference play.
The Cobbers used a grand slam by sophomore Jocelyn Maki in Game 1 against the Royals to post a 6-4 win and beat Bethel for the first time since 2012 – a streak encompassing 25 games.
Concordia fell behind early in the second game but put up five runs in the fifth and sixth innings before losing 9-5.
The Cobbers have played seven conference doubleheaders this season, and five have finished with a split.
Concordia is now 17-13 in all games and 5-9 in conference games. They are in ninth place in the MIAC standings but only 1.5 games out of the final conference playoff spot with eight games remaining in the regular season.
The loss in the opener ended a 3-game win streak for the Royals, who are 14-15 overall and 8-6 against league opponents.
Game 1: Concordia 6, Bethel 4
The Concordia offense gave MIAC Pitcher of the Week Bayleigh Frye a 6-0 lead after three innings, and Frye closed out Bethel by striking out a season-high 11 batters and holding BU to four runs on six hits.
The Cobbers bolted out of the gate with a 2-dollar bill in the top of the first. Brooklyn Hofer doubled to center field to drive in Reese Hauck with the team's first run, and Hofer scored on a single up the middle off the bat of Danielle Lyon.
Maki dropped the mic in the third inning when she cranked out her first homer of the season with the bases loaded. Kailee Falconer opened the inning with a single. Hauck put runners on first and second with an infield single and Hauck loaded the bases with a third straight single. After a Lyon lineout, Maki drove the ball over the right-center field fence for the grand slam.
Frye stumbled in the fourth and fifth frames as she allowed a pair of runs in each inning, but was able to get back in the groove and retired six of the last eight batters she faced.
The four earned runs are the most allowed in a single game for Frye this season, who ups her season win-loss record to 11-2. She is 5-1 in conference play. Frye has a season ERA of 1.02, which leads the MIAC.
Concordia outhit Bethel 10-6 in the opener. Falconer, Hofer and Emma Bowman all posted 2-hit games. Hofer had a pair of doubles, while Hauck scored two runs.
Game 2, Concordia 5, Bethel 9
The Royals turned the tables in the second game. They used the Cobbers' game-winning formula from the opener by putting up crooked numbers in the early innings.
Like CC in Game 1, the Royals scored twice in the first and had a big third inning to pull away. BU scored three times in the third and had another 2-run frame in the fourth before closing out the scoring with a single run in the sixth.
Concordia's runs came in the fifth and sixth. First-year Cobber Corra Utash supplied the power in the fifth when she belted out a 1-out solo HR. It was the second long ball in her last four games.
The sixth inning was the Cobbers' second 4-run frame of the day. CC plated four runs on three hits and were helped by three BU errors. Hauck and Hofer had the only RBI hits of the inning and Rosie Unglaub had the other base knock in the inning.
Concordia had seven hits in the finale and has recorded at least seven hits in 16 games this year. They only had 13 in all of last season.
Hauck had the lone 2-hit game in Game 2. She was one of three CC hitters to post base hits in both games. Falconer and Hofer also had hits in both contests.
Concordia used three pitchers in the second game of the day. Lauren Staples got the start and went 2.0 innings, Mallory Leitner went 1.0 frames and Kegen Coulson finished off the final 3.0 innings and didn't give up an earned run and only allowed two hits.
The Cobbers will return to Moorhead and host St. Scholastica on Tuesday, Apr. 22 at 3:30 p.m.
