The college kids got a taste of major league pitching,
but the pros had a hard time hitting on their way to a
modest scrimmage victory.

Joe Christensen
Star Tribune

FORT MYERS, FLA. - The first feel-good story of the
spring turned a little embarrassing for the Twins on
Wednesday, as Concordia University -- a Division II
squad from St. Paul -- gave them all they could handle
in a six-inning exhibition.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire rested most of his
regulars in what was supposed to a simple tuneup for
tonight's Grapefruit League opener against the Boston
Red Sox.

But on a back field at the Lee County Sports Complex,
under a hot Florida sky, Concordia hung right with the
Twins in a 2-0 loss, facing the likes of Francisco
Liriano, Joe Nathan and Justin Morneau.

"This," Concordia freshman Alex Kubal said, "is every
kid's dream."

Concordia is 6-0 on its annual spring trip, but this
exhibition was a little different than Tuesday's
doubleheader sweep over Wheeling Jesuit.

Last year, the Twins faced Concordia in something that
could only be called a scrimmage. Twins pitchers faced
Twins hitters, and Concordia pitchers faced Concordia
hitters.

The Twins technically lost 7-1, and Gardenhire vowed
revenge against his good friends on the Golden Bears
coaching staff.

Concordia head coach Mark (Lunch) McKenzie and
assistant Jim Wiesner were longtime clubhouse
attendants for the Twins before taking over the
program seven years ago.

"Everything we do is patterned after the Twins,"
Wiesner said. "Tom Kelly's philosophy. Ron
Gardenhire's philosophy. It's been a building
process."

The Golden Bears are picked to finish second in the
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference this season --
one spot behind Wayne State.

But this was something entirely different. Concordia's
hitters struck out 13 times against the Twins, and
many would return to the dugout smiling.

After missing a slider from Liriano in the second
inning, junior Andy Judkins marveled: "It moved like
six inches under my hands."

Later, after whiffing at a curve ball from Twins lefty
Dennys Reyes, sophomore Nate Hammes said, "It took a
90-degree turn on me -- right in the middle of the
plate."

The Twins sent Jesse Crain to the mound for the fifth
inning.

"What's this guy throw?" someone on the Concordia
bench asked.

"Fastball/slider," shortstop Jake Waldman said,
utterly convinced. "That's what he does in my video
game."

The Golden Bears were out of their league but
certainly not out of their element.

The Twins owed their victory to two unearned runs,
both coming on missed fly balls by Concordia's
fielders.

The Twins finished with three hits. That's no
misprint. Concordia had two.

"Our goal was not to get anybody killed," Gardenhire
said. "Those were our first swings [in a spring
contest]."

Morneau's first at-bat came with two aboard in the
first inning, and Jacob Schmidt, a freshman from
Oakdale, looked as if he was in trouble.

But in a sight all-too familiar for Twins fans,
Schmidt got Morneau to lunge at a changeup and ground
into an inning-ending double play.

The Concordia bench, and about 250 fans, erupted.

"Everything changed after that," Schmidt said "We knew
we could do it."

They might have tied it had they not twice stranded a
runner on third base. Kubal, a speedy center fielder
from Minnetonka, came up in the third inning against
Nathan, a two-time All-Star.

With a sharp ping of his aluminum bat, Kubal lined a
single to left-center field. He stole second and third
base before Nathan reached back for a strikeout to end
the threat.

Afterward, Kubal was doing TV interviews, holding a
baseball with Nathan's signature.

But it's not like Kubal went and asked the pitcher he
had just victimized for an autograph. His mother got
it for him.

Last update: March 02, 2006