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Oles Eliminate Cobbers with 8-3 victory

Jason Welle
May 13, 2001

After knocking St. Mary?s University from the MIAC tournament Friday night, St. Olaf College felled Concordia College 8-3 Saturday afternoon in Dundas. The Oles amassed 14 hits in the victory, eliminating the team that defeated them in the first round yesterday. The win gives St. Olaf a chance to play last year?s tournament champion, the University of St. Thomas, for the rights to an NCAA Regional playoff berth.

After each team stranded two runners in the first inning, Concordia grabbed the early lead in the second when Derek Dormanen?s bloop RBI single brought Isaac Hjermstad home. Ole hurler Jeff Jasperson (FY, Duluth, Minn.) got a ground out to end the inning, stranding two Cobber runners.

St. Olaf bounced back in the top of the third when two Concordia errors allowed the Oles to score three runs on three hits. Brian Sprout (Jr., Lake City, Minn.) grounded a single into left field to start the inning. Sprout then advanced to third on a hit-and-run single by Casey Coulsen. Cobber pitcher Dormanen then beaned Dan LaManna (Jr., So. St. Paul, Minn.) to load the bases for Brad Baglien (FY, Mounds View, Minn.). Things looked fine for Concordia when Baglien hit a grounder to short, but the ball took a funny hop over the shortstop?s head, allowing Sprout and Coulsen to score. Concordia then got two outs on a strikeout and a fielder?s choice, leaving runners at the corners for Kevin Quame (Jr., Benson, Minn.). Quame hit a line drive to center field which the fielder dropped, allowing Baglien to score the Oles? third run before a strikeout ended the inning.

The Oles tacked on one more run in the fourth when LaManna doubled off the right center field fence to bring Coulsen home, who had walked. That put the Oles up four to one and seemingly in control of the game. But Hjermstad had different ideas, when he hit the second pitch of Concordia?s fourth inning over the left field fence to bring the Cobbers within two. After a ground out, A.J. Bunkowske singled to center. Ben Kvidt followed with a deep double to left center that cleared the glove of a diving Steve Ryan (Jr., So. St. Paul, Minn.). Bunkowske then scored on a ground ball out before another grounder ended the inning.

Dormanen struck out the next four Oles he faced, all three batters in the fifth and the first in the sixth. The Oles then found good contact again, as Ryan singled into left field. Sprout took advantage of Concordia?s outfield shift and went opposite field for a double to right, advancing Ryan to third. Ryan then scored on Coulsen?s sacrifice fly to right field. The Oles snagged one more when Sprout scored on LaManna?s single, pushing their lead to 6-3.

The Oles got two more runs in the eighth inning when Hammond led off the inning by grounding a single into left field. A batter later, Sprout also singled to left. The two advanced to second and third on a wild pitch to LaManna before he rolled another single into left, scoring them both and yielding the 8-3 final score.

Concordia made several attempts to come back but just couldn?t string enough hits together to change the scoreboard. The Cobbers stranded two men in the sixth, one in the seventh, two in the eighth, and one in the ninth.

Jim Eckstein was credited with the win, throwing four innings of three hit baseball in relief. Dormanen took the loss for Concordia after giving up eleven hits, five earned runs, and striking out seven in six innings of work. LaManna was four for four with four RBI; Sprout was three for five with three runs scored. Besides his work on the mound, Dormanen was two for five with two RBI. Hjemstad was two for three with two runs, an RBI, and a walk.

Contact Pat Buresh at 507-786-3315 or buresh@stolaf.edu.