Senior Celebration Day Caps Off Cobbers' Season

MOORHEAD, Minn. (5/06/24)---The Cobbers nearly eliminated St. Mary's from the MIAC playoff picture but settled for a split in the final doubleheader of the 2024 season.

Concordia used a 4-run fourth inning to claim a 6-2 win in the opener but had the tables turned in the finale when the Cardinals used a trio of big innings to come away with a 7-1 victory.

The win and loss gave the Cobbers a 14-21 overall mark and an 11-9 record in league play. CC finished two games out of the 4-team playoff race.

With the win in Game 2, St. Mary's earned the final berth in the conference tournament. They end the regular season with a 13-7 record in the MIAC and a 20-17 overall mark.

Game 1: Concordia 6, St. Mary's 2
Both games of the doubleheader were played with a gale-force wind blowing in from center field so it Appeared runs would be at a premium. That wasn't the case at the start of the opener as the Cardinals struck for two runs in the first frame to bolt to a 2-0 lead.

Concordia cut the lead in half in the second inning when Drew Dorsey stole third on the front end of a double steal and scored when the catcher's throw went into right field.

The 4-run fourth saw Concordia put up two hits and send seven players to the plate. The big base knock came from the bat of David Dorsey when he doubled to right field with the bases loaded that scored Caiden Kjelstrom, Hunter Olson and Justin Kloster.

The Cobbers finished off the scoring in Game 1 when Thomas Horan went yard with a roped line drive that cut through the wind and sailed over the right-field fence. The long ball was the senior's third of the year. 

David Dorsey and Horan accounted for four of Concordia's five hits in Game 1. Both players were 2-for-3. David Dorsey had three RBI, while Horan scored a pair of runs and came through with the RBI on the long ball.

Freshman Grant Anderson survived the first inning, pitched out of trouble in all 5.0 innings he pitched and handed the ball to the CC bullpen. Anderson's five innings of work earned him his second win of the year.   

Wyatt Mohr took the ball in the sixth inning and kept the score at 6-2. He only allowed and allowed a hit and struck out one.       

Kyle Cluff capped the win by pitching a scoreless seventh inning.   

Game 2: Concordia 1, St. Mary's 7
The second game, and the Cardinals' playoff hopes, hung in the balance until the final two innings of play.

Like Game 1, SMU broke out to a 2-0 lead only to have Concordia cut the lead to one run. St. Mary's plated two runs in the third and the Cobbers countered with one in the sixth. CC's lone run of the finale was courtesy of senior Blake Vagle who was playing in the final game of his Concordia career. Vagle singled up the middle to score Kjelstrom after he Kjelstrom was hit by a pitch with two outs.

St. Mary's won the nightcap with two runs on two hits in the eighth and three runs on three hits in the ninth.

The Cobbers had six hits in the season finale. David Dorsey and Horan once again came away with 2-hit games. David Dorsey was 2-for-3 and Horan went 2-for-4.

Ben Trutwin got the start on the hill for CC and went 5.0 innings. He allowed one earned run and fanned five.

Thad Lieser and Ethan Beyer combined to pitch the final 4.0 frames. Lieser went 3.0 innings and Beyer finished off the ninth.  

COASTING INTO SECOND PLACE
Horan had two more multiple-hit games and was 4-for-7 on the day. His single to right field in the fourth inning of the first game gave him 163 career hits in maroon and gold. That broke the tie for second place on the all-time hit list for Concordia. The person he passed? None other than former head coach and 3-time MIAC MVP Chris Coste.

Horan finished the year by going 11-for-16 (.687) in the final four games. He hit safely in the final six games of the season and 14 of the final 16. That stretch helped him raise his season average to .333 which was good for second place on the team.

Horan now has 166 career hits. That total is 31 behind all-time hit leader Andy Gravdahl who had 197 base knocks from 2018-23.

BATTING CHAMP
This year's Cobber batting title belongs to David Dorsey. Dorsey hit a career-best .352 and finished the year with a 10-game hit streak. He had at least one hit in 24 games and led CC with 15 multiple-hit games – including the final six games of the year.