Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Northern State junior pitcher Clint Manzo came on for his fourth straight relief appearance and pitched the Wolves to a 3-2 victory in Game 2 on Sunday afternoon as Northern State salvaged an afternoon split with the visiting Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball action.  CU took Game 1 by a 4-1 count in eight innings.
 
The Wolves moved to 15-26 on the season and 8-18 in league play with Sunday's win.  CU moved to an even 20-20 overall and 11-15 in the loop as they make a final push toward the NSIC post-season tournament.
 
Manzo entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the third inning and induced an inning-ending ground-out to preserve a 1-1 tie.  The Wolves then scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to go up 3-1 on the Golden Bears.  NSU took advantage of a two-out error to score the go-ahead run and Robert Fahlin singled home an insurance run before the Golden Bears could get out of the inning.
 
That insurance run proved critical, as CU picked up a run in the top of the sixth, but Manzo limited the damage to just the one run.  He then shut down the Golden Bears in the top of the seventh, striking out Drew Turk with the tying run on third base to get the victory.  Manzo gave up just two hits in 4.1 innings of work and struck out five.
 
The Wolves earned the win despite working just four hits off CU starter Adam Kramer.  Jesse Gonzalez, Cameron Lehner, Brent Lawrence and Fahlin each had one hit apiece.
 
The win came on the heels of a dramatic extra-innings affair in the opener.  CU got one run off NSU starter Robbie Rocamora in the first and held the Wolves scoreless for six innings.  NSU rallied in the bottom of the seventh, however, drawing a bases-loaded walk to score the tying run with one out in the inning. 
 
The back-to-back-to-back free passes (walk, hit by pitch, walk) forced the Golden Bears into a pitching change, and the Wolves couldn't take advantage of the bases-loaded opportunity, sending the game into an extra stanza.
 
This time it was the Golden Bears to took advantage, plating three runs on three hits and an error to regain the upper hand.  NSU went down in order in the bottom half of the inning, giving CU the opening victory.
 
The doubleheader concludes the season series with the Golden Bears, as Saturday's games were washed out by rain.  The Wolves will close out the 2012 season next weekend, hosting Bemidji State for a four-game set on Saturday and Sunday.  First pitch is slated for noon both days at Fossum Field.