NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College baseball team opened Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play by sweeping Concordia-Moorhead by scores of 4-3 and 4-0 in its home opener on Tuesday at Mark Almli Field.

In the opener, St. Olaf (11-8, 2-0 MIAC) recovered from giving up three runs in the bottom of the sixth to win it in the next inning on a walk-off single by junior Evan Hammonds. In game two, sophomore Kevin Steel threw a career-high 8.0 shutout innings to pitch the Oles to the sweep of Concordia-Moorhead (3-13, 0-2 MIAC).

After winning seven of its last nine games, St. Olaf heads to Parade Stadium in Minneapolis to face Augsburg University on Thursday, April 4 starting at 2:30 p.m.

St. Olaf 4, Concordia-Moorhead 3 | Box Score

St. Olaf built a 3-0 lead before Concordia rallied with three runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game. With the score still tied, Hammonds bounced a one-out single up the middle to score sophomore Brendan Goldman from third for the game-winning run in the home half of the seventh.

In a game that included just nine combined hits, senior Sam Lavin struck out a career-high 12 batters over the first 6.0 innings for the Oles, allowing three runs on five hits with a pair of walks. First year Kieran Haaland picked up the first win of his collegiate career by retiring the Cobbers in order in the seventh.

Goldman was the lone hitter on either team with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. Hammonds was 1-for-2 with a walk and two RBI, while sophomore Frank Lavin added a run-scoring single in the win.

Sam Lavin got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first by getting a fielder's choice to leave three Cobbers on base and start a string of 12 consecutive batters that the senior retired. St. Olaf staked the right-hander to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, scoring twice without a hit by drawing five walks in the inning. Junior Matthew Kulesa knocked in the first run with a sacrifice fly after coming to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out. Hammonds drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs for the inning's other run.

The Oles added a run to their lead in the bottom of the fourth when Goldman singled to center, stole second, got to third on a passed ball, and scored on Frank Lavin's single to center. The Cobbers took advantage of two St. Olaf errors in the sixth to score three runs, but Sam Lavin struck out the final two batters of the inning to leave the bases loaded and keep the game tied.

After Haaland's 1-2-3 top of the inning, Goldman led off the bottom of the seventh with a single up the middle and got to second on a wild pitch. With one away, Goldman stole third when the Cobbers had him picked off second but threw behind him to put the winning run 90 feet away. With the Concordia infield drawn in, Hammonds bounced a walk-off single up the middle to win it for the Oles.

St. Olaf 4, Concordia-Moorhead 0 | Box Score

Steel was the story in game two as the sophomore limited Concordia to four hits with three walks and six strikeouts over his 8.0 shutout innings. The 8.0 innings marked the longest start of the sophomore's career, surpassing the 7.0 innings he threw against the Cobbers in Moorhead on May 9, 2023.

With the win, Steel improved to 4-0 on the season while lowering his ERA to 3.54 through six appearances. Senior Brock Brumley sent Concordia down in order in the ninth and has allowed just one earned run in 12.0 innings of relief over eight appearances this season.

Sophomore Breckin Hadley posted his second four-hit game of the season to lead St. Olaf's 13-hit attack, going 4-for-5 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI. Hammonds and Sam Lavin had two hits apiece as the top-three hitters in the Oles' order combined to go 8-for-14 in game two.

St. Olaf got on the board first in the bottom of the second on back-to-back two-out hits from Goldman and Frank Lavin. After Goldman singled to center, Lavin drove a run-scoring double to right to allow Goldman to score all the way from first.

The score remained 1-0 until the fifth when the Oles doubled their lead on a run-scoring single by first year Cole Pleimann. Hadley led off the inning with a single, got to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on Pleimann's opposite-field single to right. St. Olaf tacked on two more runs in the sixth, scoring on RBI singles by Hammonds and Hadley in a four-hit inning.

Concordia got at least one runner on base in every inning except the sixth against Steel but was 0-for-16 with runners on base in the game. Brumley got three consecutive ground balls in the ninth to retire the Cobbers in order. St. Olaf's pitching staff has allowed just 11 runs in its last six games.