The Dordt Defender baseball team split a Great Plains Athletic Conference doubleheader with Concordia on Wednesday in Sioux Center, winning the opener 4-3 before dropping the nightcap 15-9.
 
Game 1: Dordt 4, Concordia 3
Box Score (PDF)
 
Dordt used a late surge to erase a deficit and secure the opener. Concordia struck first with a solo home run in the third and added runs in the fifth and sixth to build a 3-1 lead. Dordt answered in the fifth when Ryan Vann delivered an RBI single to score Joey Schlesselman and cut the deficit to 3-2.
 
The Defenders broke through in the sixth with a decisive rally. Schlesselman delivered a two-run double to tie the game at 3-3, and Vann followed with an RBI double to give Dordt its first lead of the contest at 4-3. Dordt's bullpen held the line from there, stranding runners and closing out the one-run victory.
 
Team Stats

• Dordt outhit Concordia 8-5
• Dordt drew 4 walks; Concordia drew 12
• Dordt left 8 runners on base; Concordia left 16

Dordt Leaders

• Ryan Vann: 2-4, 2 RBI, double
• Joey Schlesselman: 2-3, 2 RBI, double, 2 runs scored
• Drew Oreskes: 1-1, 2 walks
• Pitching: Ryan Boe earned the win with 2.0 innings allowing 1 run; Derrick Nonhof recorded the save with a scoreless seventh

Game 2: Concordia 15, Dordt 9
Box Score (PDF)

The nightcap turned into a high-scoring affair, with Concordia using a big third inning to seize control. After Dordt answered Concordia's two-run second with a pair of runs to tie the game, Concordia erupted for six runs in the third to take an 8-2 lead.
 
Dordt chipped away and mounted its best push in the fifth inning. Trailing 9-4, the Defenders scored four runs highlighted by a two-run double from Logan Harris to get within 9-8.
 
The threat was short-lived as Concordia responded with four runs in the sixth and added two more in the seventh to extend the lead to 15-8. Dordt scratched across a run in the seventh, but could not overcome the deficit in the 15-9 final.
 
Team Stats

• Dordt outhit Concordia 12-11
• Dordt drew 9 walks; Concordia drew 8
• Dordt struck out 9 times; Concordia struck out 4

Dordt Leaders

• Logan Harris: 3-4, 2 RBI, double, 2 runs scored
• Ryan Vann: 2-4, 2 RBI
• Jimmy Twombley: 2-4, RBI, 2 runs scored
• Jarett Herz: 1-2, 2 RBI, 2 walks
• Pitching: Derrick Nonhof gave Dordt 2.0 innings to start, allowing 2 runs; Ryan Boe added a scoreless inning in relief

Dordt moves to 15-21 overall and 5-11 in GPAC play following the split and is scheduled to face Dakota Wesleyan in a pair of doubleheaders in Mitchell on Friday and Saturday, April 10 and 11.
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