MAUSTON, Wis. – The Bemidji State baseball team kicked off Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play with a three-game series against Concordia-St. Paul in Mauston, Wis., on Sunday and Monday.
The Beavers dropped all three games, losing 6-4, 9-0 and 11-4.
A pair of three-run innings lifted the Golden Bears (7-9, 3-0 NSIC) over BSU in the stand-alone Sunday game. Carter Simon got Bemidji State (1-17, 0-3 NSIC) on the board with an RBI single in the top of the second inning. CSP answered with a three-run burst in the bottom of the frame.
Justin McGuigan gave the Golden Bears a 3-1 lead with an RBI single, following a sacrifice fly and a run-scoring fielder’s choice in the two previous at-bats.
Zach Listiak cut the Beavers’ deficit in half with an RBI single in the third before CSP added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Home runs from Koby McBroome and Nick Thimsen extended CSP’s lead to 6-2.
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Jack Munson and James Wirt added run-scoring hits for the Beavers in the eighth and ninth innings, though the comeback effort fell short.
Will Lavin threw five innings for Bemidji State. He allowed four earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts. Korey Dahlberg tossed seven innings for the Golden Bears, surrendering two earned runs on five hits with nine strikeouts. Matt Sherman earned a two-out save.
The final two games of the series weren’t as competitive. CSP ran away with a 9-0 seven-inning win in the first leg of Monday’s doubleheader.
Brayden Roybal and Bryce Nelson tallied doubles, while Kal Brohmer recorded a triple. Jonah Lewis threw a complete-game shutout for the Golden Bears. He allowed just three hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. Wirt, Ty Karger and Jackson Schaffer had the hits for the Beavers.
CSP scored runs in all but two innings in its 11-4 win to cap the doubleheader. Munson brought home a run with a double for BSU, then Listiak singled in another. Isaiah Biehn walked with the bases loaded to give Bemidji State a 4-2 lead in the third inning.
The Golden Bears scored nine unanswered runs to finish the game. Brohmer and Noah Juliar hit doubles, while Nelson added a triple. Christian Morel threw six innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts.
Bemidji State starts a second NSIC doubleheader against Upper Iowa at noon on Tuesday, March 21.
Concordia-St. Paul 6, Bemidji State 4
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BSU 011 000 011 – 4-9-1
CSP 030 030 00X – 6-7-1
WP: Dahlberg (7 1P, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K)
LP: Lavin (5 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K)
S: (0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)
Concordia-St. Paul 9, Bemidji State 0 (F/7)
BSU 000 000 0 – 0-3-3
CSP 211 005 X – 9-11-0
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WP: Lewis (CG, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K)
LP: Barrick (5.1 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K)
Concordia-St. Paul 11, Bemidji State 4
BSU 004 000 000 – 4-5-2
CSP 021 221 21X – 11-12-0
WP: Morel (6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K)
LP: Bersaw (3.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 5 K)
