MOORHEAD, Minn. – After losing a late lead in game one, the St. Olaf College baseball team finished its season by winning a pitchers' duel that turned into an offensive explosion by both teams late to wind up with a split against Concordia-Moorhead on Tuesday afternoon at Bucky Burgau Field.

St. Olaf (16-18, 11-9 MIAC) owned a 6-1 advantage in the fifth inning of game one, but Concordia (20-16, 14-6 MIAC) plated the game's final six runs, including three in the seventh, to take the opener, 7-6, in walk-off fashion. The two offenses combined for just three runs through seven innings in game two before the Oles and Cobbers put up three-straight five-spots in a game St. Olaf won by an 11-7 margin.

The Cobbers entered the day already having secured a spot in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs, while the Oles were eliminated from contention the day before due to Concordia's sweep of Bethel University. The split sent the Cobbers into the postseason as the No. 3 seed.

St. Olaf's 11 MIAC victories this season are its highest total since going 13-7 in 2019. The Oles will lose just three members of this season's roster – Harald Borg, Avery von Herrmann, and Lucas Warner – to graduation.

Concordia 7, St. Olaf 6 | Box Score

St. Olaf held a 6-1 lead in the opener before Concordia rallied for the walk-off victory with three runs in the fifth and three more in the seventh. The Oles were plagued by four errors in the loss.

Junior Sam Lavin hit a three-run home run in the first inning and held the top-hitting team in the MIAC to one unearned run over the first three innings on the mound. Sophomore Evan Hammonds was 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base, two runs scored, and two RBI, while first year Breckin Hadley added a pair of hits, a run scored, and an RBI.

St. Olaf struck for three quick runs in the top of the first when Hammonds and Hadley got on with singles before Lavin sent a three-run home run over the fence in right for his second home run of the season. Lavin allowed three hits and two walks with three strikeouts over his three-plus innings of work before departing with the bases loaded and nobody out in the fourth.

After relieving Lavin, sophomore Justin Isaacson limited the damage in the inning to one run and St. Olaf promptly stretched its lead to 6-1 with three runs in the next half inning. After singles by first year Brendan Goldman and junior Brian Nevin and a bunt by first year Mason Buck, Hammonds doubled down the right-field line to plate two runs. Two batters later, Hadley doubled in Hammonds for what proved to be the Oles' final run of the game.

The Cobbers trimmed their deficit to 6-4 with three runs in the fifth before completing the comeback in the seventh. In its final at bat, Concordia filled the bases with one out before scoring on an error and back-to-back RBI singles.

St. Olaf 11, Concordia 7 | Box Score

First year Kevin Steel and Concordia's Carter Thielke kept both offenses in check over the first seven innings of game two before the late offensive outburst. St. Olaf scored five runs in the top of the eighth to take a 6-2 lead, only for the hosts to answer with five runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to grab a 7-6 lead. The Oles put another five-spot on the board in the top of the ninth and junior Owen Manning shut the door in the bottom of the frame to end the Cobbers' five-game winning streak.

Steel worked in and out of trouble over the first seven innings, pitching around six hits and six walks to hold Concordia to two runs while striking out four in an eventual no-decision. Thielke was even better for the Cobbers, limiting the Oles to one run on seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts over his seven innings before St. Olaf got to the Concordia bullpen in the final two innings.

St. Olaf outhit Concordia by a 14-10 count in the game, led by a 3-for-5, three-RBI performance from Buck. Goldman was 2-for-5 with a run and three RBI, while Lavin capped a standout junior season by going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored.

Steel and Thielke put zeroes on the board until the Oles opened the scoring in the top of the fifth on a two-out RBI single that scored Frank Lavin, who hit a one-out single and stole second. The Cobbers tied the game on a two-out bases-loaded walk in the sixth and went ahead on a fielder's choice with the bases full and one out in the seventh, but Steel kept St. Olaf in the game by avoiding further damage in both innings.

After Thielke exited the game, the Oles got to the Cobbers' bullpen in the eighth, scoring five runs on just three hits. After tying the game on a Concordia error, St. Olaf broke the 2-2 tie with a bases-clearing three-run double with two outs by Goldman. Buck followed with a run-scoring triple to cap the big inning.

Concordia's first two batters of the bottom of the eighth were retired, but the next six Cobbers all reached, as the hosts pushed across five runs on just three hits of their own. The Oles hit right back in the top of the ninth with another five-run inning to take the lead for good.

With the bases loaded on two walks and a bunt single and still nobody out, Hadley delivered the go-ahead, pinch-hit two-run single to give St. Olaf an 8-7 lead. Hadley later scored on a wild pitch and Buck added a two-out RBI single later in the inning to send the Oles into the bottom of the inning with an 11-7 lead. Manning allowed just a two-out single in the ninth to seal the victory.