More Walkoff Win Magic

MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/19/17)--- The "Walkoff Wonders" continued their last at-bat success as Brett Swanson's sacrifice fly scored Nate Leintz with one out in the bottom of the 10th in Game 2 to give Concordia a split with Carleton.

The Cobbers could never get on track on offense in the first game and fell 2-1 but then rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the second game and earned a 6-5 extra-inning victory.

The walkoff win is the fourth straight for Concordia and fifth overall this season.

The loss in the opener snapped a seven-game win streak for the Cobbers. With the win in the nightcap Concordia is now 18-12 overall and 7-5 in the MIAC. The Knights ended their three game losing skid and move to 9-17 in all games and 2-8 in league play.

Concordia was handcuffed in the first game by the quality pitching of Carleton starter Austin Heuer. The Cobbers only had five hits in the seven innings but had several chances to put up a big inning. CC stranded nine runners and went 1-for-7 (.142) with runners in scoring position and 2-for-14 with runners on base.

All five Cobber hits in Game 1 were singles and only Nate Hoeft had more than one hit in the game.

Austin Ver Steeg matched Heuer pitch for pitch. He went the distance on the hill for Concordia and allowed only five hits as well. Both of Carleton's runs were unearned and Ver Steeg was able to get seven strikeouts in the game.

The second game started even worse for Concordia as they allowed a pair of runs in each of the first and second innings and fell behind 4-0.

The Cobbers finally got a multiple-run inning when Swanson singled home Leintz and Ver Steeg after CC loaded the bases with no outs in the inning.

Carleton tacked on a single run in the sixth to take a 5-2 lead. That's when the old two-out, clutch-hitting Cobbers returned.

Concordia tied the game with three runs in the seventh and all three runs came with two outs in the inning. Cody Rahman singled home Nate Hoeft from second.

Rahman and junior outfielder Chad Johnson then pulled off a double steal to move up to second and third. Leintz then came through in the clutch one more time when he doubled to left center field which scored both Johnson and Rahman.

Rahman then shut down the Knights on the mound as he moved from third base to the pitcher's mound at the start of the seventh inning. He went 2.2 innings, gave up three hits and no runs and then passed the baton to Joe Hallock who got the final out of the ninth after Carleton had runners on first and second.

Concordia won the game in the 10th when Leintz led off with a walk. Alec Sames followed with another walk and then Leintz moved up to third on an error from the Knight pitcher after an errant pickoff attempt at second base.

The Cobbers were unable to get the win on the next batter as a ground out to second base kept Leintz at third. Swanson followed with a deep enough fly ball to center field to easily knock home Leintz on the tag-up.

Concordia outhit Carleton 11-8 in the nightcap. The Cobbers had five different players record two-hit games. Hoeft, Rahman, Leintz, Eli Johnson and Swanson all had multiple-hit games.

Alex Erickson was the most effective Cobber pitcher in the finale. He entered the game in the second and pitched 4.1 innings to get to Rahman in the seventh. He only allowed one run on one hit and struck out three. The extended relief outing helped Erickson lower his season ERA to 5.50.

STREAK STUFF: Both Joe Hallock and Cody Rahman had their extended on-base streaks come to an end. Rahman went 0-for-3 in the opener and had his streak stop at 15. Hallock had a single in the first game but then went 0-for-5 in the second game and had his streak at 18 games.

TWO-OUT TOUGHNESS RETURNS: Concordia was able to come up with clutch hits in the second game. The Cobbers batted .308 in the second game.

COLORS OF THE RAINBOW:  The five hits in the first game marked the first time since Apr. 8 that Concordia has failed to get seven or more hits in a game. Since that game on Apr. 8 Concordia had won seven straight games. CC went above the 7-hit mark in the second game and won. The Cobbers are now 17-4 when they have at least seven hits in a game.

WHAT'S NEXT: After a six-game home stand the Cobbers will finally hit the road to take on Hamline on Saturday, Apr. 22 at 1 p.m. The Pipers are 10-16 overall and 3-5 in the MIAC.

POSTGAME INTERVIEW: