April 22, 2025
How Sweep It Is
MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/22/25)---You'll have to forgive us if we continue to hit the rewind and play buttons on the recaps. The fact is that the Cobbers' 2025 season is turning into one long answer to the question, "When was the last time they did that?"
The answer after Tuesday's doubleheader with St. Scholastica was – the end of the 2022 season. The question was – when was the last time Concordia posted a sweep in conference play?
The Cobbers' two wins over the Saints fell on opposite ends of the drama spectrum. CC rolled to an 8-0 "ho hum, no drama" win in the opener and then used a 3-run walkoff home run from Brooklyn Hofer to overcome a 4-3 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning to post a 7-4 victory.
The sweep over St. Scholastica is the first against an MIAC opponent since May 3, 2022 when Concordia beat Augsburg 6-4 and 2-1.
The two wins on Tuesday push the Cobbers' conference record to 7-9 and moves them into seventh place in the league standings – one game out of the final playoff spot. CC is 19-13 overall this year.
St. Scholastica, which started ahead of CC in the MIAC standings, falls to 6-10 in the league and 10-22 overall.
Game 1: Concordia 8, St. Scholastica 0 (5 innings)
In addition to the sweep storyline, the Cobbers' ability to hit the long ball was front and center in the two wins. Concordia clouted five home runs in the two games and scored nine of their 15 runs on the day via the long ball.
Reese Hauck and Hofer both had 2-homer days for CC. Hauck started the scoring on the day when she turned on a 2-out pitch in the first inning and sent the ball over the right-center field fence.
The Cobbers added a second 2-out run in the first when Danielle Lyon singled home Hofer.
Concordia added a single run in the second and then three more in the third – both coming courtesy of the long ball. Hofer pounded a ball to dead center to account for the first run and Jocelyn Maki cranked out her second homer of the year to score two more.
CC finished off the opener with a 2-run fifth frame. Senior Rosie Unglaub singled home Lyon and catcher Cate Kehoe ended the game with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Bayleigh Frye continued her All-Conference season in the first game. She pitched all five innings and conceded only three hits while striking out six.
The complete-game win gave Frye 12 victories for the season. That is the most by a Cobber pitcher since 2016 when Abigail Haraldson also posted a dozen victories.
Concordia pounded out 11 hits in the opener with Hauck, Hofer, Lyon and Maki all coming through with multiple-hit games.
Game 2: Concordia 7, St. Scholastica 4
The home run proved to be the deciding factor, and the Cobbers connected on two taters, which provided five runs.
Hauck had a 2-run blast in the first, and Hofer called game in the seventh with the 3-run shot.
Concordia took a 3-1 lead in the second when Lily Heskin brought home Kailee Falconer with a bunt single.
St. Scholastica took their first lead of the day when they scored three times in the fourth, which set up the dramatic seventh inning.
Frye pitched the first 5.0 innings. It was the first time all season that she had pitched in both games of a doubleheader. She allowed the four runs and struck out seven more batters to finish with 13 Ks on the day.
Lauren Staples came into the game in the sixth inning and walked the first batter she faced, but then retired the next six hitters to pick up her fourth win of the season.
CC matched its hit total from the first game with 11 base knocks. Heskin, Hauck, Hofer and Emma Bowman all had 2-hit games, while Charlotte Bertram went 3-for-3.
Frye Facts: Frye had her season ERA raised to 1.20, but she still leads the MIAC in that stat category. The next closest pitcher, Kenzie Gatz from league-leading St. Mary's, has a 1.63 mark. Frye now has 93 strikeouts on the season, which is the second-most in the conference. She needs seven more strikeouts to become the seventh pitcher in program history to reach the 100 K mark for a season.
Home Run Hot Takes: Concordia has 14 home runs on the season and is led by Hauk, who has five. The most homers in a single season by an individual is seven, set by Sydney Roberts in 2016. The most team homers in a single year are 22 set in 2002.
Concordia will continue its quest for the playoffs when it hosts St. Catherine in the final two home games of the 2025 season on Saturday, Apr. 26 at 1 p.m.
