SIOUX FALLS – Led by a stellar and clutch pitching performance from Brandon Roesler, the University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team (15-29, 15-19 NSIC) kept its postseason hopes alive with a 3-2 win in game two and a split of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader with Concordia St. Paul (21-14, 14-10) on Friday afternoon at the Birdcage.

Roesler improved to 4-3 with a seven-inning complete game in which he scattered seven hits. Ryan Meyer and Rob Johnson had RBIs to lead the offense. USF lost a heartbreaker in game one when CSP rallied for a 2-1 decision in extra innings (eight innings).

USF and CSP will conclude the regular season on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day with another doubleheader, which starts at noon. Between games, USF will recognize seniors, Dylan Gavin, Rob Johnson Matthew Minnick, Connor Merriam, Anthony Lopez, Stuart Maes and Brent Jarvis.

With two games to play, the Cougars remain in the mix to grab a top-eight spot and berth in the NSIC Postseason Tournament set for next week in Sioux Falls.

With the split against CSP in Friday, the Cougars are in 10th place at 15-19 or .441, .59 behind Northern State (19-17), which is in eighth place after sweeping Winona State to move to 12-12 in the league and .500. USF is also .28 behind Upper Iowa (17-23), which is 15-17 at .469, which is ninth in the league. NSU plays Winona State twice Saturday and Upper Iowa faces Minnesota State for a doubleheader.

The pitching was dominant on both sides today at the Birdcage. USF had a 1.20 earned run average in two games, allowing 12 hits and two earned runs in 15 innings with six strikeouts and just two walks. CSP had a 1.29 earned run average as they allowed seven hits and two earned runs in 14 innings with 16 strikeouts.

Game 1 – Concordia St. Paul 2 Sioux Falls 1 (eight innings)
Gus Varland (7-1) outdueled Dylan Gavin (4-7) in game one as the Golden Bears rallied to defeated USF, 2-1, in extra innings (eight innings). In a scheduled seven-inning affair, the Cougars opened up a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the second inning. CSP tied it with an unearned run in the sixth inning. In the eighth inning, Gavin gave up a game-winning hit to Carter Schmidt with two out.

In his final home start, Gavin came up big, working 7 2/3 innings and allowing just five hits and two runs, including one earned run. Gavin, who dropped his earned run average to 3.21 on the season, had two strikeouts and two walks in pacing 33 batters and throwing 79 pitches. Junior relief pitcher Spencer Dokken finished up for USF, retiring the only hitter he faced.

Varland allowed just two hits and no earned runs in seven innings with nine strikeouts as he improved to 7-1. Riley Sweeney earned his seventh save of the season. After walking a pair of hitters, he worked out of the jam to give CSP the win.

In the second inning, Brent Jarvis coaxed a walk off Varland and then stole second, coming home when Rob Johnson's hard-hit grounder wasn't handled by Concordia St. Paul's Mickey Leius as the Cougars took a 1-0 lead.  

Gavin held CSP off the scoreboard until the Golden Bears scored an unearned run on a two-out error by the Cougars. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Connor Merriam just missed a game-winning home run with his ball slamming off the left center field wall. Then, CSP earned the win as Schmidt hit a two-out single down the left field line, which plated Tanner Holmquist, who had two hits and scored both CSP runs.

Game 2 – Sioux Falls 3 Concordia St. Paul 2
Freshman Brandon Roesler (4-3) kept USF's postseason hopes alive by throwing his third complete game of the season a 3-2 decision over Concordia St. Paul in game two of the doubleheader.

Roesler had another strong outing for USF by scattering seven hits and allowing just one earned run in seven innings of work. He had four strikeouts and did not walk a hitter. In facing 28 hitters and throwing 68 pitches, Roesler lowered his season earned run average to 3.41 as he picked up his fourth win in seven decisions.

He outpitched a pair of CSP pitchers, who also had strong performances. Zach Lauzon (3-4) took the loss for CSP after allowing three hits and two runs with three strikeouts and three walks in three innings. Connor Hurley finished up for CSP with three innings of relief, allowing two hits and one unearned run with four strikeouts.

Offensively, USF had five hits, including an RBI single from Rob Johnson, who lifted his season average to .310. Freshman Ryan Meyer also had an RBI while freshman Grant Lung had a hit and run scored as did senior Dylan Gavin. Senior Brent Jarvis and freshman catcher Alex Elizondo both tallied base hits.

The Cougars took a 2-0 lead over the Golden Bears in game two after Johnson singled with two out to plate Lung, who had opened the game with a single. With Dylan Gavin on third, CSP pitcher Zach Lauzon was called for a balk, advancing Gavin home and Johnson to second base. CSP drew within one a run-scoring single by Isaac Horman in the third inning. USF added to its lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Matt Minnick walked, moved to second on Elizondo's sacrifice and took third on a throwing error by catcher Connor Olson, who was attempting to pick off Minnick. Then, Meyer hit a sacrifice fly to right field which brought home Minnick.