MOORHEAD, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris baseball team rallied out of deficits twice to tie the score on Sunday, but Concordia College (MN) got the final word in a 9-5 loss for the Cougars. UMN Morris committed six errors in the game and gave up only four unearned runs, keying the victory for the Cobbers.
The scoring started in the bottom of the second inning when a pair of Minnesota Morris errors allowed runners to reach and eventually for two runs to score. The Cougars fought back in the top of the fourth inning as
Logan Graves led off with a bunt, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before coming in on a RBI single from
Evan Benson. Benson would later score on a well-executed double steal with
Tyler Carper to make it 2-2.
The tie extended to the bottom of the fourth but the Cougars then once again committed a pair of errors. Each one occurred with two outs in the inning and two runs scored on the second one, putting the Cobbers back in front, 4-2.
Minnesota Morris pulled one back in the top of the fifth after
Blake Haugen was hit by a pitch and
Joe Pelle doubled him to third. With one down, a RBI groundout from Graves was enough to get him home for slice it to a 4-3 margin. In the bottom of the sixth, Concordia added another unearned run with a two-out RBI single after the base runner reached on UMN Morris' fifth error of the contest.
Despite the defensive struggles, Minnesota Morris kept hitting its way back into it. Pelle and
Alex Baumann connected on back-to-back hits with one out in the seventh to put two aboard with one out. Graves then hit a deep sac fly to center to score Pelle and move Baumann to third. Benson followed with a double to left to score Baumann and knot the game up at 5-5. With two outs,
Josh Doss singled to left, but Benson was tagged out at home trying to get the Cougars on top.
Things fell through for the Cougars in the bottom of the eighth when Concordia managed to put four runs on the board in the inning. An error contributed to the woes, but the Cobbers mostly did the damage themselves with three straight hits and a walk after the Cougars had two down. With only one turn at the plate left, Minnesota Morris managed only a two-out single from Graves to wrap the game up.
Nathen Carlin started the game off for Minnesota Morris and took a no-decision, going 5.0 innings and giving up four runs, none of them earned. Graves (0-1) was tagged with the loss on the day. Graves was also the most efficient hitter for the Cougars, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Benson, Doss, Carper and Pelle all added two hits apiece as well.
Minnesota Morris is on the road on April 7, taking on Martin Luther College in New Ulm for a non-conference doubleheader starting at 1:30 p.m.
