Concordia-St. Paul Rallies for Walk-Off Win Over USF

Golden Bears erase 13-5 deficit with late-inning heroics

Apr. 4, 2026 at 3:51am

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A fragmented, geometric painting depicting the chaotic action of a college baseball game, with overlapping shapes and planes of green, red, and player silhouettes conveying the intensity and unpredictability of the sport.Concordia-St. Paul's dramatic comeback victory over Sioux Falls showcases the unpredictable nature of college baseball through a cubist lens.Bellevue Today

In a high-scoring NSIC baseball matchup, the University of Sioux Falls built an 8-run lead in the 6th inning, but Concordia-St. Paul stormed back with 11 unanswered runs, capping the comeback with a walk-off grand slam in the 9th to win 16-13.

Why it matters

This game showcased the resilience and offensive firepower of both teams, as well as the unpredictability of college baseball. The dramatic comeback win for Concordia-St. Paul will boost their confidence and playoff hopes, while USF will need to regroup and find a way to close out games after squandering a large lead.

The details

Sioux Falls jumped out to a 13-5 lead after a huge 8-run 6th inning, powered by homers from Mitch Iliff, Dominic Vogel, and Jackson Yeager. However, Concordia-St. Paul chipped away at the deficit, scoring 3 runs in the 7th, 3 more in the 8th, and then capping the comeback with a walk-off grand slam in the 9th.

  • The game was played on Friday, April 4, 2026.
  • Sioux Falls built their 13-5 lead in the top of the 6th inning.
  • Concordia-St. Paul scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th to make it 13-8.
  • The Golden Bears added 3 more runs in the 8th to cut the deficit to 13-12.
  • Concordia-St. Paul hit the walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 9th inning.

The players

Mitch Iliff

A Sioux Falls player who homered twice and finished with 3 hits and 2 RBIs.

Drew Miller

A Sioux Falls player who hit a 3-run homer.

Dominic Vogel

A Sioux Falls player who hit a 2-run homer in the 6th inning.

Jackson Yeager

A Sioux Falls player who hit a solo homer in the 6th inning.

Grant Hieb

The head coach of the Sioux Falls baseball team.

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What they’re saying

“Tough loss today. With the way the wind was blowing out today I had a feeling it was going to be a high scoring game. We got away from our approaches after the 8-spot in the 6th & their last relief pitcher, Smith did a good job of hanging 3 straight zeros. That allowed them to hang around & chip away at our lead & put them within striking distance in the last inning. Our pitchers weren't very good today. We fell behind all day & they did a good job of making us pay. We'll need to bounce back tomorrow in a big way if want to win this series.”

— Grant Hieb, Head Coach

What’s next

Sioux Falls and Concordia-St. Paul will continue their series on Saturday, April 4 with a doubleheader starting at 12:00 PM in Bellevue, Nebraska. Sioux Falls will look to bounce back and take the series.

The takeaway

This game showcased the unpredictable nature of college baseball, as Sioux Falls let a large lead slip away late. Both teams displayed impressive offensive firepower, but Concordia-St. Paul's resilience and clutch hitting in the final innings proved to be the difference in this wild NSIC matchup.