Cobbers Get Swept By St. John's

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (4/07/12)—Concordia lost a pair of games against St. John's in Collegeville on Saturday. The Cobbers fell 5-3 in the opener and then dropped a heartbreaking 7-6 decision in 12 innings in the nightcap. Sophomore shortstop Braden Rahman went 5-for-6 in the second game and finished with six hits on the day.

The two games were decided by unearned runs and home runs allowed by Concordia. Of the 12 runs allowed on the afternoon, only five were earned and seven runs came courtesy of the long ball. The biggest blow came in the second game when the Cobbers gave up two runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game at 6-6. Both of the runs were unearned due to a fielding error with two outs in the inning.

Concordia (10-11/2-4 MIAC) conceded only one earned run in the first game and lost 5-3. The Cobbers tied the game 2-2 in the top of the fifth but then conceded three unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth on a three-run homer with two outs. CC pulled to within two with a single run in the sixth but could never get any closer.

The Cobbers had five hits in the first game. Five of the top seven hitters in the batting order connected on a single hit. Jared Johnson and Michael Olson both had one hit and one RBI. Senior Zach Frappier went the distance on the mound.  He pitched 6.0 innings gave up seven hits, only one earned run and struck out a pair of SJU hitters.

Concordia clawed their way out of a 3-0 deficit at the start of the second game. St. John's plated three runners in the bottom of the first before CC scored two runs in the third to get to within one at 3-2. The Johnnies added a single run in the bottom of the third and then the Cobbers tied the game at 4-4 when Michael Olson singled home a pair of runs in the top of the fifth.

That set the stage for the most dramatic inning of the twinbill. Concordia grabbed their first lead of the day in the top of the seventh when two runs scored on balls hit to the infield. Leading 6-4, relief pitcher Bryce Feia retired the first two Johnnie batters he faced in the seventh on a line out and a strike out. He then induced a ground ball but the batter reached safely on a fielding error. That was followed by a game-tying home run over the left-center field fence.

Concordia loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth inning but was unable to score and then had a runner on third with only one out on the 10^th but couldn't plate the go-ahead run. Cobber reliever Chris Gilson entered the game in the eighth inning and was almost unhittable. He retired the first six hitters he faced, then gave up a single and then retired eight straight before giving up the game-winning homer with two outs in the 12^th inning. Gilson pitched 4.2 innings, allowed just two hits and struck out five.

The Cobbers outhit the Johnnies 15-10 in the nightcap. Rahman and Michael Olson led the hit parade. Rahman had five hits, reached base six times in the game and raised his season batting average to .362. Michael Olson was 3-for-5 and had two RBI. He has now hit safely in nine straight games. Jordan Doschadis and Brian Guler both had two hits and Guler drove in a pair of runs.

Concordia will stay on the road and play at St. Mary's on Tuesday, Apr. 10 in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.