Bananas Split

MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/18/23)---Concordia's doubleheader at St. John's on Tuesday was sponsored by Dairy Queen as the teams combined to post a split that was truly bananas.

The Cobbers won the opener 16-1 after the Johnnies committed seven errors in the game. St. John's returned the double-digit deficit win with an 18-2 victory in the nightcap.

The loss in Game 2 ended Concordia's 7-game win streak. The Cobbers are now 13-13 in all games and 7-3 in the MIAC. The Johnnies see their mark in all games move to 14-11. SJU is just below CC in the league standings with a 5-3 record.    

How lopsided was the twinbill? The winning teams combined to score 34 runs and hammer out 36 hits, while the losing squads combined for three runs and nine hits.

Looking for a book to describe the Cobbers' day in Collegeville? We suggest you read "The Tale of Two Cities" as it truly was the best of times and worst of times.

The first game was nothing but large scoops of ice cream and unlimited sprinkles for Concordia. The Cobbers posted multi-run innings four times in the game which was highlighted by a 7-run second inning.

Concordia, who was playing as the home team since the game was originally scheduled to be played in Moorhead, conceded a first-inning home run and then rattled off a safety, touchdown, field goal and then a pair of safeties to finish the score line at 16-1.

While you might think the offense should get first billing for the Game 1 recap, we will give it to pitchers Alex Rudquist and Mason Klevgaard, who only allowed three hits and didn't let a Johnnie runner get past second base after the first-frame long ball.

Rudquist went the first 6.0 innings, gave up three hits, including the home run, and struck out a pair. He is now 2-1 on the year and lowered his ERA to a team-best 1.90. Klevgaard followed with his third appearance of the year and pitched a perfect seventh inning – getting two of the three outs via the strikeout.

Offensively, we think you know the storyline. When you think Andy Gravdahl can't put up any numbers he hasn't posted this season, he goes out and has his first 5-hit game of the year. Gravdahl was 5-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored.

Caiden Kjelstrom, Thomas Horan and David Dorsey had the other multiple-hit games for CC.

Kjelstrom was 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Horan, fresh off reaching the 100-hit mark on Friday, was 2-for-4 with the only extra-base knock for the Cobbers in the opener when he doubled in the 4-run sixth inning. Dorsey came away with three hits for Game 1. He was 3-for-4 with three RBI.

The only highlights for the Cobbers in the second game came in the seventh inning when CC scored both of their runs. Horan poked a 2-out single through the right side of the infield to score Noah Pilon, and then Max Boran had an infield single to score Chance Bye.

Horan, who was moved to the No.1 spot in the batting order after Jake Christianson left the opener after getting hit by a pitch, accounted for half of the team's six hits. He went 3-for-4 with another double.

Kjelstrom, Boran and Matt Gruber had the other base knocks for CC.

Concordia used six pitchers in the 7-inning game. Sophomore Ethan Beyer was the most effective as he pitched a scoreless sixth inning, ending in a 4-6-3 double play.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS, BUT OFFENSE PUTS WIN STREAKS TOGETHER: What's been the most significant difference between the first 18 games of the year for the Cobbers when they went 6-12 and the 7-game win streak? Offense of course. In the first 18 games of the year, CC hit .256 as a team, scored 79 runs, had an OPS of .647 and recorded 25 extra-base hits. In their 7-game win streak, the team hit .401, scored 89 runs, had an OPS of 1.34 and posted 26 extra-base hits. Baseball is a pretty easy game – the more hits you get, the better chance you have of scoring more runs and posting wins. Here endeth the lesson. 

7TH HEAVEN: Concordia's 7-game win streak coincided with a ridiculous hot-hitting streak by Gravdahl. Don' believe me? Check out these numbers from the 7-game stretch: .667 batting average, 22 hits, 1.77 OPS, 13 RBI and 9 extra-base hits.

THE .300 CLUB: Concordia has six starting players who are now all hitting above .300 – and a seventh who doesn't qualify for stat leaders but is beginning to get into the everyday rotation. This is in sharp contrast to before their 7-game win streak when they only had three players hitting .300 or better. Gravdahl leads the team with a Tony Gwynn-like .398 average. He is followed by Kjelstrom (.344), Isaac Henkemyer-Howe (.337), Christianson (.333), Horan (.323) and Gruber (.314). Dorsey only has 26 at-bats on the year and is hitting .500.

HIT-STREAK HORAN: Gravdahl had his 12-game hit streak stopped in Game 2 in Collegeville, which leaves Horan as the Cobber with the longest hit streak. Horan had multiple hits in both games vs. SJU and has now hit safely in eight straight games. In the last four games, Horan is hitting .562. He also has three multiple-hit games. And if any of those numbers are incorrect, we guarantee we'll hear about it from the QCC.

YOU GET 'EM ON, HE'LL DRIVE 'EM IN: Henkemeyer-Howe added to his MIAC-leading RBI total on Tuesday. He drove in a single run in Game 1 and now has 17 TBI in conference games and 29 in all games. Both totals are tops among conference players. Henkemeyer-Howe also owns a team-best eight multi-RBI games.    

UP NEXT: Concordia will have a 2-day break before traveling to Winona to take on St. Mary's on Friday, Apr. 19 at 1:00/3:30 p.m.