Game 1

Concordia-Moorhead 16
Minnesota, Morris 2

Box Score

Conventional baseball wisdom says that as baseball teams prepare for the season, pitching and fielding tend to lag behind hitting. There's much speculation but no known reason for this separation it's just another of baseball's curiosities.

The Cougars, coming into their season opener against Concordia at Mall of America Field last night, ran into this experience as early inning errors and Cobber hits put them out front 7-0 by the end of the second inning on their way to a 16-2 victory.

Junior Lee Arvold got the starting nod and struggled early, having trouble painting the edges. After a solid first inning, the Cobbers jumped on him in the second, scoring six runs, abetted by four Cougar fielding errors.

Junior Kyle Blair relieved Arvold after 1 1/3 innings and slowed the Cobbers' offense, throwing three strong innings.

UMM would generate some offense with a small rally in the bottom of the fifth as Matt Peterson tripled to right field, driving home Chris Thompson and Drew Lundquist.

Blair tired in the sixth and was relieved by Ted Gray. The sophomore then gave up a three-run home run to Concordia's Jake Krause, making the Cobber lead 13-2. Another bases-clearing double stretched the lead to 16-2 by the end of the inning.

In the sixth, Ian Olson led off with a double to left field, but the Cobber reliever Clem Dupuis buckled down and snuffed out a run when he made a diving catch of Scott Barta's liner to end the bottom of the sixth.

Junior Nick Bacon led the Cougars with two hits.

Game 2

Concordia-Moorhead 6
Minnesota, Morris 2

Box Score

Early in the second game, it looked as if the Cougars would be struggling for offense again. Cobber pitcher Jake Torrison struck out the side in the top of the first.

But in the top of the second, Kyle Blair reached on an error and Josh Ledin sent him around with a triple to left center. One batter later, Mike McGill hit a sacrifice fly to right and Ledin scored easily on the tag up, giving UMM an early 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the second, the Cobbers retook the lead 3-2 on a bases clearing single by Jake Krause. Concordia benefited from a hit batter with on an 0-2 count and a wild pitch that gave them an extra at bat.

Torrison regained his control in the third, setting down the Cougars in order.

The Cougars next scoring threat came in the top of the fourth when Blair drew a leadoff walk. After two strikeouts, sophomore Jordan Gegen reached on an error, sending Blair to second, but Torrison was able to get junior Mike McGill to pop out to second base.

Randall kept the game in striking distance with some tough throwing in the bottom of the fourth. The Cobbers' Mike Nelson was able to reach third with a stolen base and a wild pitch. But Randall got Jake Krause to ground out, stranding Nelson at third. Then he struck out Dan Wackler and got Mike Carlson to fly out to center to end the threat.

That would close the book on Randall's night (four runs on five hits) who was relieved by sophomore Tom Fox.

Fox for his part would nearly work out of jam in the bottom of the fifth. After allowing a two-strike single and issuing a walk, a sacrifice bunt advanced Cobber runners to second and third. He got the next batter to ground out to Gegen at first, but the next batter, Andy Johnson, singled home both runners for a 6-2 lead that would hold for the night.

Torrison and Ryan Johnson combined for a three-hitter on the Cougars with 12 strikeouts. Randall took the loss. He and Fox held Concordia to eight hits.

The Cougars take three days off before jetting down south for a week of games in Ft. Myers, Fla.

More videos available on UMM Athletics YouTube. Click the link to the right.