Senior first baseman Alex Wojciechowski lifted a home run in each end of the University of Minnesota Duluth's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader as a pair of senior hurlers led the Bulldogs to 7-1 and 7-2 victories over Concordia University, St. Paul for the team's return to Bulldog Park in Duluth, Minnesota on Saturday afternoon.

Wojciechowski finished the day 4-for-6 at the plate and tied the program's career home run record, now with 39 home runs in his four years, with two longballs (19) on Saturday. UMD (19-9, 12-4 NSIC) leaped ahead of the Golden Bears in the conference standings after handing Concordia (16-6, 9-4 NSIC) its second and third consecutive defeats. In the home dugout, the Bulldogs have now won four straight.

Wojo's first four-bagger of the day got the scoring started for the Bulldogs, plating a pair in the bottom of the first inning of game one in support of senior left-hander Bo Hellquist (5-1). Hellquist tossed six complete, allowing just one earned run while working his way around five hits and a walk with nine strikeouts on the afternoon. The Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning when junior shortstop Brian Pierce sparked a rally with a lead-off single, stealing second ahead of a hit-by-pitch for sophomore outfielder Brett Milazzo. Wojo knocked in his third run of the afternoon with a single, then he and Milazzo moved up on a double steal. CU starter Zach Rengel (2-2) walked senior second baseman Jimmy Heck ahead of freshman Eric Yachinich, who had earlier in the game entered as a pinch runner. Yachinich made Rengel pay, launching a grand slam (1) to bust the game wide open and give the Bulldogs a 7-1 lead.

Rengel tossed a six-inning complete game, allowing seven earned on seven hits and a pair of walks while striking out four. After Hellquist's six innings, junior right-hander Colton Sinning entered and tossed a shutout seventh, striking out one and allowing one hit to close out the victory for UMD.

UMD 7, Concordia-St. Paul 2
Senior right-hander Austin Vaske shined in game two, working into the eighth inning while striking out eight Golden Bears, allowing just a pair of earned runs on five hits and one walk. A pair of young hurlers, sophomore southpaw Jalen Busker and freshman righty Adam Hallberg closed out the final 1.2 innings for UMD and Vaske (3-1).

A fourth-inning sacrifice fly for Concordia-St. Paul broke a scoreless tie early in the nightcap, but Wojciechowski once again struck for a two-run homer, giving the Bulldogs another 2-1 lead. Once again, that lead was expanded on with a rally in the bottom of the fifth.  Junior catcher Marco Lucarelli singled leading off the inning, eventually scoring after an infield single by Milazzo and a throwing error by Concordia's second baseman.  A double by Farley brought home Milazzo and walks to Wojciechowski and Comer loaded up the bases for Jimmy Heck, who beat out a swinging bunt that rolled to no man's land between third base and the pitcher's mound.

A line drive flyball for freshman designated hitter Tyler Wojciechowski brought home his older brother on the sacrifice, and senior outfielder Spencer Diedrich singled hom the final run, giving the Bulldogs another 7-1 lead.

Vaske walked the lead-off hitter, shortstop Eric Fasnacht in the eighth, got a foul pop-up for the first out and then hit a batter before ending his day. A bloop single off Busker loaded the bases, and Concordia brought home a run with an RBI groundout in the inning, but would not get any closer as the bullpen closed the door from there.

#VoteWojo
Fan nominations are open for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award, honoring the best collegiate baseball player in the nation. The University of Minnesota Duluth has launched a social campaign asking fans to nominate Alex Wojciechowski by clicking http://bit.ly/VoteWojo and following the instructions on screen.

UP NEXT
UMD and CU will return to Bulldog Park on Sunday afternoon for day two of their four-game series. All NSIC doubleheaders feature one seven-inning game followed by a nine-inning game. If the first game goes to extra innings, then the second reverts to a seven-inning game as well. Opening pitch is set for 12:00 p.m.