ST. PAUL, Minn. - With a forecast that calls for temperatures in the low 70's on Saturday and a high of 60 degrees with sunshine on Sunday, the Concordia baseball team (8-4) is thrilled to play their home opener at Barnes Field in late March for the first time in a number of years this year in the season. They'll host Bemidji State (7-7) with a 1:30 p.m. start on Saturday and a noon start on Sunday. Not only is it home openining weekend, but the four game series marks the start of Northern Sun play. Fans who are unable to enjoy what should be perfect spring baseball weather can follow LIVE online all weekend: LIVE: STATS | AUDIO (Sat.) | VIDEO (Sun.)
Concordia enters the weekend ranked fifth in the latest NCBWA Central Region Top-10 poll and are riding a 6-game winning streak. They are also 5-1 head-to-head against NSIC teams in non-conference play.
They've been led by Division II's top hitter,
Bryan Lippincott, who is hitting .591 to top the national batting race. He's also the national leader in on base percentage (.661), is fourth in slugging (.955) and seventh in RBI (1.5 per game) while ranking in the top-50 in doubles (11th), runs (28th) and triples (26th).
He's not the only prominent slugger on the national leaderboard, as freshman
Kyle Dalton and his .477 average ranks sixth in the country.
The team ranks 10th nationally in hitting at .339, and with a triple every other game, they rank sixth. They've also scored 7.5 runs per game which ranks 31st.
On the mound, the pitching staff has displayed excellent control from right handers
Adam Kramer and
Andy Fagely. Kramer is eighth in the land with 0.55 walks per 9-innings and Fagely is close behind in 23rd at 0.89 free passes issued per game.
The pitching staff as a team can also deliver the punch-out, ranking 33rd in Division II with 7.9 per 9-innings.
