MOORHEAD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College baseball team extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 4-3 victory in game one before suffering its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) loss of the season by a 7-6 margin to Concordia-Moorhead in game two on Saturday at Bucky Burgau Field.
After getting five strong innings from senior Matthew Oberlander, St. Olaf (16-6, 7-1 MIAC) held off Concordia-Moorhead (13-11, 5-5 MIAC) in the seventh inning to take the opener and stretch its winning streak to 10. In game two, the Oles scored four combined runs in the eighth and ninth innings to take a 6-2 lead before the Cobbers plated five runs in the bottom of the ninth to deal St. Olaf its first conference loss of the year.
After a weekend road trip of over 700 miles with back-to-back trips to Duluth and Moorhead, St. Olaf will host Saint John’s University in its long-awaited home opener on Tuesday, April 15. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. at Mark Almli Field.
St. Olaf 4, Concordia-Moorhead 3 | Box Score
Oberlander yielded just one unearned run on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts in the opener to improve to 3-1 on the season. Sophomore Kieran Haaland picked up his third save of the season by tossing the final two frames, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits with no walks and one strikeout.
Junior Mason Buck, junior Christopher Woodside, and senior Jack Alley combined for six of St. Olaf’s eight hits with two hits apiece. Buck and Alley both reached base all four times, going 2-for-2 with two walks and a run scored. Woodside also scored a run, while senior Matthew Kulesa had a hit, a walk, and drove in two runs.
St. Olaf jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Buck doubled with one out and scored on a opposite-field single by Kulesa. Concordia god the run back with an unearned run in the bottom of the first.
In the top of the third, the Oles went back on top by taking advantage of three walks, a hit batter, and a wild pitch to score twice. After St. Olaf loaded the bases with nobody out on two walks and a bunt single by Buck, Kulesa grounded into a double play to score the first run of the inning. Another walk and a hit batter reloaded the bases before senior Evan Hammonds came in to score on a wild pitch.
St. Olaf added a run to its lead in the top of the sixth on a bases-loaded walk to Kulesa after filling the bases with one out on a single by Woodside, a walk to Alley, and an intentional walk to Buck. The Cobbers limited the damage to one run in the inning to keep the score at 4-1.
Concordia mounted a rally in the bottom of the seventh before Haaland closed out the save. With runners on first and third and one out, the first run came on a fielder’s choice before the Cobbers stayed alive with back-to-back singles, the second of which brought in a run. With the tying run at third, Haaland got Isaac Henkemeyer-Howe to fly out to center for the final out.
Concordia-Moorhead 7, St. Olaf 6 | Box Score
St. Olaf broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the top of the eighth and another in the top of the ninth to take a four-run cushion into the final half inning. That lead was not enough, however, as Concordia scored five runs on four hits and four walks in the bottom of the ninth to claim the walk-off win and come away with a split.
Hammonds and Woodside were the lone Oles with multiple hits in game two. St. Olaf used seven pitchers in the game, including collegiate debuts on the mound for Woodside, first year Josiah Utsch, and sophomore Joey Haas, who combined to throw 5.0 innings of scoreless relief. Twelve walks ultimately proved costly for St. Olaf late.
Concordia scored single runs in the first and third to take a 2-0 lead and held St. Olaf scoreless until the fifth. Juniors Frank Lavin and Jack Pettit started the inning with a double and a walk, before sophomore Sawyer Chell dropped down a bunt that resulted in throwing error to allow Lavin to score. After a bunt single by Hammonds filled the bases, Buck hit a sacrifice fly to right to tie the game.
The score stayed tied until the Oles benefited from two walks and two errors by the Cobbers in the top of the eighth to score three times. After back-to-back walks to start the frame, sophomore Cole Pleimann reached on an error on his bunt that allowed Kulesa to score. Another error on a Woodside bunt brought in another run before Lavin dropped down a squeeze bunt to complete the three-run inning.
St. Olaf added a run in the top of the ninth on a passed ball after Hammonds and Buck singled to start the inning and moved up on a wild pitch. The Cobbers overcame the 6-2 deficit in the bottom of the ninth, scoring four times after the second out of the inning, including getting the game-winning run on a bases loaded walk.
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