MINNETONKA, Minn. – Concordia-St. Paul won a pair of tightly contested games on Sunday afternoon to earn a doubleheader sweep over Southwest Minnesota State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball at Veterans Field on the campus of Minnetonka High School, earning a 3-0 victory in the opener and completing the sweep with a 3-2 win in game two.
 
CSP won the weekend series taking the final three games of the four-game set after SMSU earned a 2-0 win in 10 innings in game one on Saturday afternoon. SMSU falls to 17-10 overall, 12-8 NSIC, while CSP is now 15-15, 11-9 NSIC.
 
Both teams pitched outstanding on Sunday with SMSU out-hitting CSP in both games but the Mustangs left 10 runners on base in game two.
 
Both squads hit .196 in the four-game series with the Mustangs limited to 22 hits and six runs scored, while the Golden Bears finished with 21 hits and scored 14 runs on the weekend.
 
In Sunday's game one, CSP scored in the bottom of the first with Trett Joles smacking a two-out RBI single to score Kal Brohmer off SMSU starting pitcher Carter Petron.
 
The score remained 1-0 until the fifth when CSP took advantage of back-to-back one-out walks with both runners eventually scoring on a single and sac fly.
 
The 3-0 lead was plenty for CSP starting pitcher Ian Segna (4-1) who fired a four-hit, seven-inning shutout with two strikeouts and two walks.
 
Cory Bantam had two of SMSU's hits, while Carter Lang and Brock Woitalla each had one.
 
Petron (4-2) allowed three runs on three hits in five innings with three walks and zero strikeouts to suffer the loss. Bennett Knapper retired all three batters he faced in one inning of relief.
 
In game two, SMSU struck early plating a run in the top of the first inning. Jared Cortez reached via a one-out single, stole second and later scored on a two-out run-scoring base hit by Evan Behn.
 
CSP took the lead in the home half of the second off SMSU starter Shay Endres. With one out, Will Huseman coaxed a walk and with two outs, the Golden Bears' Kaden Johnson and Koby McBroome hit back-to-back doubles to make the score 2-1.
 
SMSU answered with a single run in the fifth to tie the game and had a big chance to regain the lead. Nathan Wheeler opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a sac bunt. After Wheeler was thrown out at third base on a fielder's choice, Bantam singled to right center before Behn came through again with a two-out RBI single to plate Cortez and tie the game at 2-2. Moments later, Lang was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but CSP relief pitcher Reece Piontek entered and recorded a strikeout to end the threat and keep the game tied.
 
CSP quickly regained the advantage in the bottom of the fifth using back-to-back singles and a ground ball double play to score the go-ahead run.
 
Piontek was brilliant in relief tossing the final 4 1/3 innings to earn the victory allowing just two hits and one walk, while racking up eight strikeouts.
 
SMSU threatened in the ninth with Levi Lampert drilling a one-out double, but Piontek ended the game with a fly out and strikeout to secure the victory.
 
The Mustangs held a 9-8 hit advantage with Behn, Woitalla and Wheeler each finishing with two hits, while Lampert, Cortez and Bantam all recorded one hit.
 
Endres (2-2) matched a season-high with six innings pitched allowing three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Cameron Jensen allowed one hit with two strikeouts in two shutout innings of relief.
 
SMSU will now turn its attention to its home opener on Wednesday taking on Wayne State at Legion Field with a doubleheader starting at 1:30 p.m.