Playoff Hopes Dealt Serious Blow In Winona

WINONA, Minn.  (4/26/14)—Concordia was dealt a serious blow to its MIAC playoff hopes as the Cobbers were swept 7-3, 9-6 at St. Mary's on Saturday.

Concordia, who had beaten the Cardinals 12 straight times before Saturday's twinbill, falls to 7-9 in league play. That is two games behind a three-way tie for fourth place which is final spot for the conference playoffs. Concordia is now 15-14 overall. St. Mary's leapfrogs the Cobbers and joins the three-way tie for fourth. SMU is now 9-7 in the MIAC and 13-21 in overall games.

The Cobbers were never able to slow down the Cardinal offense. CC led only briefly in the two games. They took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth in game 2 but then St. Mary's responded for seven runs in the bottom of the frame and seized control of the finale.

Concordia had its chances in both games and came away with 21 total hits on the day. Unfortunately the Cobbers stranded 11 base runners in the opener and then seven more in the second game.  CC hit a combined .250 (9-for-36) with runners on base and .210 (4-for-19) with two outs in the inning.

Devin Johnson was the only Concordia player to have more than one hit in each game on Saturday. He was 2-for-4 with a run scored in game No.1 and 3-for-4 with three runs scored in the nightcap.

Jordan Gefroh also had three hits in the second game. He was 3-for-7 on the day and is now hitting a team-best .419 for the year.

The top six players in the Cobber batting order hit .320 for the day, accounted for 16 of the team's 21 hits and scored and scored eight of the team's nine runs.

Concordia will now host Bethel on Tuesday, Apr. 29 at 1 p.m. The doubleheader will follow the ceremony to dedicate the Cobber field to head coach Bucky Burgau who is retiring after the season.