Big-Run 6th Innings Doom Home Opener

STORY LINE: A pair of big-run sixth innings cost Concordia in their home opener against Macalester. The Cobbers gave up five runs in the sixth in the opener and lost 9-6 and then conceded three runs in the sixth in the second game and fell 6-1.

RECORDS: Concordia drops their first two home games of the season and falls to 8-12 on the year. CC is now 1-5 in MIAC play. The Scots win for the fourth time in the last five games and move to 12-12 in all games and 4-2 in the conference.

GAME 1 RECAP: The first game was a pitcher's affair for the first three innings and then turned into an offensive showcase in the final three frames. Macalester took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning and then push the lead to 4-0 with two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth. Concordia would cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth frame when they scored three times on four hits. The big hit in the inning was a 2-run home run off the bat of freshman Valerie Kolstad. Caitlin Culleton then singled and Maria Pake doubled to bring home Culleton and cut the deficit to one run. The Scots would then break the game open with the 5-run sixth. They scored five runs on five hits to take a 9-3 lead. The Cobbers would score a single run in the sixth on a Callie Ahlgren long ball and then one more in the seventh to bring the final total to 9-6.

Concordia was outhit 12-9 in the first game. The Cobbers had seven extra-base hits in the game. Pake had a pair of doubles and Ahlgren had a 2-bagger to go with her home run.

GAME 2 RECAP: Like Game 1, the finale was a pitcher's duel at the start and then finished with multiple runs. The Scots took a 1-0 lead in the first but then Concordia tied the game at 1-1 with a single run in the second when Riley Irmen drove home Kolstad with a 2-out single. Macalester scored the eventual game-winning run in the fifth and then came up with the decisive 3-run sixth.

The Cobbers had five hits in the second game with five different Concordia players coming away with a single base knock.

BACK-TO-BACK JACKS: Callie Ahlgren's home run in the first game marked the second straight game that the first-year outfielder had a home run. She also went yard in the second game against Gustavus on Sunday. Ahlgren's two homers on the season are tied with fellow freshman Madison Kostelecky for the team lead.

THE HITS: Freshman shortstop Maria Pake had a hit in both games, collected a pair of hits in Game 1 and went 3-for-8 on the day. She now has a team-leading 11 multiple-hit games and has a 5-game hitting streak. Pake has at least one hit in 16 of the 20 games she has appeared.

UP NEXT: Concordia will have an away-and-home conference weekend. The Cobbers will play at Bethel on Saturday, Apr. 6 and then return home to host Carleton on Sunday, Apr. 7.