Gameday Recap

MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/20/08)--Concordia and St. Olaf traded pitching gems on Sunday in Moorhead. The Cobbers received a three-hit, complete-game shutout from Eddie Massee in the first game to earn a 3-0 win, and the Oles countered with a three-hit, complete game of their own from Alex Sommer in the second game to record the 5-0 victory.

The split keeps the Cobbers' conference record even at 6-6. Concordia is now 13-10 overall. The win in the first game was also the first win at home in 2008 for CC. The Cobbers were 0-4 at Jake Christiansen Athletic Complex before today's action. With the win in the second game, the Oles gain their second straight league split of the weekend. St. Olaf is now 5-4 in MIAC play and 15-10 overall.

Massee pitched a masterpiece in the opener. After stumbling out of the gate in the first, he received a couple of big inning-ending double plays and got stronger as the game wore on. He only allowed two hits in the final four innings of play and did not let a base runner get past second base after the third inning. He was helped by the double play ball in the first and third innings.

Offensively, Concordia scored a single run in the fourth inning and then two more in the sixth. The Cobbers struggled to break onto the scoreboard in the first three innings despite picking up two hits in each inning. Base-running errors and the lack of a clutch hit kept the game tied at 0-0.

CC finally scored in the bottom of the fourth inning when Drew Zimmerman singled home Nick Lewis from second base. The two runs in the sixth inning came courtesy of three hits and an error.

In the opener, CC outhit St. Olaf 12-3. The Cobbers stranded eight runners in the game, while the Oles left seven men on base. Four different Concordia players had multiple-hit games in the first game and surprisingly, catcher Kyle Johnson was not one of them. Zimmerman led the hit parade by going 3-for-3 and driving in two of the three CC runs. Lewis, Matt Youngquist and Jake Krause all had two hits in the game.

The second game saw the teams flip roles. Sommer was in complete control from the outset as he mixed up a solid fastball with a very accurate curve ball. He allowed only three hits and did not let a CC runner to get past second base. The biggest threat came in the fourth inning when Kyle Johnson hammered a line drive off of Sommer's calf for a single. Sommer was somehow able to stay in the game. Lewis then walked and the Cobbers had runners on first and second with only one out. Sommer then reached back and picked up a strike out and a harmless ground ball to first base to end the inning and the only scoring chance that Concordia would have for the rest of the game.

St. Olaf scored a single run in the top of the first inning on a single, double and sacrifice fly. They got to Cobber freshman starter Jake Torrison early but then Torrison settled into a groove and he did not allow a run until the sixth inning. At one point in time he set down eight straight Ole batters.

St. Olaf broke the game open in the top of the sixth inning when Torrison started to tire. They scored four times on four hits, two of which were back-breaking doubles.

The Oles held a 9-3 advantage in hits in the second game. Tyler Jones was the only St. Olaf hitter with more than one hit in the game. He went 2-for-4 and scored a run.

For the Cobbers, Kyle Johnson, Youngquist and Krause each had a single hit. Johnson went 2-for-4 on the day and extended his hitting streak to 17 games. He also had a double in the opener and now has 11 on the season. Both Youngquist and Krause broke out of recent slumps. Youngquist was 3-for-7 on the day and Krause went 3-for-5.

Concordia will hit the road and play at Bethel on Tuesday, Apr. 22 ay 2:30 p.m. before coming back to Moorhead for a pair of home doubleheaders on the weekend.