Howe 'Bout That Home-Field Hitting Advantage!

MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/09/24)---There's having a home-field advantage. And then there's what Concordia did in its 2024 home opener against Macalester. The Cobbers exploded for 33 runs and 32 hits as they blew the doors off the Scots in an 18-7, 15-1 doubleheader sweep.

Junior Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe led the Cobber bat parade as he went 6-for-8 and had eight RBI, seven in Game 1 alone, and scored five times. Concordia also got a 7-RBI performance in Game 2 from Chance Bye who went yard twice in the finale.

The sweep runs the Cobbers' win streak to four games. CC has now won five of its past six contests and is 8-14 in all games and 5-3 in conference play. With the win streak, Concordia has jumped into sole possession of fifth place in the conference standings.

Game 1: Concordia 18, Macalester 7
The first inning of the opener gave fans a sign of what kind of afternoon it would be at The Buck. Macalester opened the game with a 5-spot to take a 5-0 lead. Concordia put thoughts of a road upset quickly to rest when they scored eight runs on seven hits in the bottom of the inning which took 35 minutes to play. Henkemeyer-Howe had three of his seven RBI in the game in the first frame. He hit a 2-run homer in his first at-bat and then singled home another run when he came to the plate for the second time as CC sent 13 hitters to the plate.

Both teams would score runs in the second and third innings with Concordia extending its lead to 11-7. The Cobbers finished off the game by scoring seven unanswered runs with five coming in the fifth. Henkemeyer-Howe added another RBI with Justin Kloster, Dylan Gertken and David Dorsey also plating runs.

Concordia outhit the Scots 16-11 in the first game. Henkemeyer-Howe went 4-for-4 and walked once to go with his seven RBI. He was one of five Cobber players with multiple-hit games.

Kloster also had a 4-hit game in the opener. He went 4-for-5, scored two runs and had an RBI.

Thomas Horan, Dorsey and Zack Ehnstrom all recorded 2-hit games. Horan was 2-for-2 with four runs scored and a pair of RBI. Dorsey and Ehnstrom were both 2-for-4 with Dorsey driving in two runs and Ehnstrom posting a trio of RBI – his second straight multiple-RBI game.

Ben Trutwin and Alex Rudquist were the beneficiaries of the 18-run output. Trutwin pitched the first 2.0 innings and handed the baton to Rudquist who went the final 5.0 innings and didn't allow a run. He gave up only one hit and struck out two.

Game 2: Concordia 15, Macalester 1
The Cobbers doubled up on their big-run innings in Game 2. They posted crooked numbers in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings to end the game early because of the 10-run rule.

What will get lost in the Cobbers' Game 2 offensive jamboree will be the outing on the mound from junior Jacoby Nold. Nold pitched all 7.0 innings allowed only two hits and didn't concede an earned run. Nold didn't walk a batter and struck out eight to pick up his first win of the season. At one point in the game, he retired 10 straight batters.

While Nold was dealing on the mound, the Cobbers were hammering out 16 hits, including seven extra-base hits – the most of any game in the season. Concordia entered Game 2 with five homers in the first 21 games of the year, they nearly doubled that total as they left the yard three times in the nightcap.

Bye had a 2-HR performance and equaled Henkemeyer-Howe's 7 RBI total from Game 1. He went 4-for-4 and also scored four times. The other long ball came off the bat of Kloster who finished the series by going 5-for-8 with three RBI and three runs scored.

Dorsey came through with a pair of extra-base hits. He led off the second with a triple and had a 2-run double in the third.

Henkemeyer-Howe, Dorsey and Ben Shumansky were all 2-for-4 in the second game.   

100 WITH A HITCH OR BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
We will now give props to Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe for reaching the 100-hit milestone. Due to a technical glitch with the series at St. Scholastica, the four hits he recorded in the DH were not added to his career totals and thus not recognized when waiting for him to collect his 100th career hit. After further examination, the tech error has been corrected and we will now offer our CONGRATS to Henkemeyer-Howe for becoming the 30th player in Cobber history to reach 100 hits in a career. He now has 108 career hits which places him 27th on the school's all-time hit list.    

100-HIT HITTER ON A TEAR
Concordia has won five of its last six games and during that stretch, Henkemeyer-Howe has been raking. He has hit safely in all six games and has five multiple-hit contests during that stretch. In the past six games he is hitting .520 with 12 RBI and four extra-base hits.

UP NEXT: Concordia will hope its home-field hitting advantage continues when they host Bethel on Saturday, Apr. 13 at 1 p.m.

Cobber Baseball All-Time Hit Leaders (as of April 9, 2024)
1. 197 – Andy Gravdahl – 2018-2023
2. 162 - Chris Coste – 1993-95
3. 158 - Phil Kuball - 2013-16
4. 148 - Chad Felstul - 1999-02
5. 147 - Michael Olson - 2011-14
6. 145 – Thomas Horan – 2020-23
7. 140 - Kyle Johnson - 2006-09
T8. 137 - Jake Krause - 2007-10
T8. 137 - Ryan Hebrink - 2001-04
T10. 136 - Derek Dormanen - 2000-03
T10. 136 - Chris Klabo - 2004-07
T10. 136 – Cody Rahman – 2013-17
T13. 134 - Tim Carlson - 2013-16  
T13. 134 - Kent Kuball – 1982-85
15. 130 - Devin Johnson - 2013-15
16. 129 – Matt Nustad – 1998-01
17. 122 – Matt Gruber – 2019-23
T18. 120 - Michael Carlson - 2008-11
T18. 120 – Scott Bjerke – 1987-90
T18. 120 – Mark Nelson – 1982-84
21. 117 - Braden Rahman – 2011-14
T22. 116 – Chad Johnson – 2015-18
T22. 116 – Turner Storm – 2015-18
T24. 114 – Clayton Horgen – 1997-00
T24. 114 – Scott DeBrito – 1995-97
26. 113 - B.Schumacher - 2004-06
27. 108 - Isaac-Henkemeyer-Howe - 2022-24  
27. 106 – Jordan Domine – 2013-16
T28. 102 - Dan Wackler - 2008-11
T28. 102 – Greg Toivonen – 1984-86