Gameday Recap

ST. PETER, Minn. (4/18/07)--For the third straight conference road doubleheader Concordia was swept, and in the process, played a one-run game and another that was decided by seven or more runs. On Wednesday, the Cobbers lost to Gustavus   6-5, 12-2 in St. Peter in a series that puts the Cobbers in trouble of not making the MIAC playoffs for the second straight season.

CC is now 1-7 in league play and 5-17 overall. The good news for the Cobbers is that they will now play three straight MIAC series at home. Gustavus wins for the sixth time in the past seven games and ups their league record to 7-3 and their overall record to 14-7.

The big blow in the opener came in the third inning when Gustavus' Tony Konicek hit a two-out grand slam that put the Gusties in front 4-1. Concordia rallied to tie the game in the top of the fourth inning when they scored three runs on a pair of hits with the biggest coming off the bat of Brian Knoblauch when he doubled to right center to score Kyle Johnson.

Gustavus regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when they plated two runs on three hits. The Gusties had five of their six hits in the game in the decisive third and fifth innings.

Concordia made a comeback bid in the top of the seventh inning. Freshman Jake Krause led off the frame with a single. Tyler Doll then followed with a single but was thrown out at first by the catcher. Matt Youngquist doubled to drive in Krause and Concordia had the tying run on second base with only one out. However, the next two Cobber batters were retired by Gustie reliever Chad Schnettler who earned his second save of the year.

To make matters worse for the Cobbers, they outhit Gustavus 11-6 in the opener and did not make an error in the field. The grand slam in the third proved to be the one difference maker in the contest.

The top three batters in the Cobber lineup all had two hits each. Leadoff hitter Jake Krause went 2-for-4 and scored two of the team's five runs. Doll continued his hot streak at the plate since being inserted into the lineup. He also went 2-for-4 and raised his season batting average to .391. Youngquist was also 2-for-4 but he drove in a pair of runs.

Cobber starting pitcher Kevin Engebretson pitched the first 4.1 innings and allowed five hits. He also allowed four critical walks with two coming with two outs in the third inning. Matt Venturini relieved Engebretson and did not allow a run in the final 1.2 innings. He gave up a lone hit and struck out two.

The nightcap was over by the end of the second inning. Gustavus roughed up Concordia pitching for two runs in the first and then nine more in the second inning. All told for the game, the Gusties knocked out 19 hits - the second most conceded by the Cobbers in a single game this season.

Krause was 1-for-3 in the second game. He went 3-for-7 in the series to break out of a 2-for-19 (.105) that he had been mired in since the start of the conference season. Chris Klabo was the only CC player with more than one hit in the game. Klabo was 2-for-3, scored a run and drove in a run. He connected on his first collegiate triple in the seventh inning.

Concordia will host a pair of games on the weekend. They will square off against Augsburg on Saturday, Apr. 21 at 1 p.m. and then play St. John's on Sunday, Apr. 22 at 2:30 p.m. Both series were postponed from earlier in the year and both will be played at the Jake Christiansen Athletic Complex.