ST. PAUL, Minn. - This weekend, the Concordia baseball team opens a six game road trip starting against the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. Concordia (9-7, 1-3 NSIC) has won nine straight against U-Mary (2-16, 1-3 NSIC) and are 12-3 against the Marauders under head coach
Mark "Lunch" McKenzie. The forecast calls for minimal chances of precipitation with a high of 77 on Saturday, and a high of 63 in windy conditions on Sunday. Both games are slated for a noon first pitch. WEEKLY NOTES | LIVE STATS
Concordia features one of the top offensive attacks in the land, with a .339 average (8th), 2.4 doubles per game (6th), 7.3 runs per game (32nd), 0.4 triples (25th) and a .455 team slugging percentage (30th).
The lineup is led by the nation's top hitter, senior
Bryan Lippincott. The Preseason All-American and NSIC Player of the Year leads the NCAA with a .542 average but is also third nationally in OBP (.611) and sixth in slugging (.864).
He hits third in the lineup and has already been walked intentionally four times this year, tying a school season record.
Batting behind him in the cleanup spot has been senior
Logan Bouts who is having a career year as pitchers continue to struggle with Lippincott, who has 10 walks in 16 games. Bouts has made pitchers pay, hitting .438 (21st in the nation, 3rd in the NSIC) while driving in 17 runs in 16 games. He's also slugging a career-high .594.
While the two players have led the team offensively, senior catcher
Doug Stearns has made an impact behind the plate as well as at the plate. Stearns has gunned down five out of seven attempted base stealers and has been lauded since fall ball for his ability to call a game for the pitching staff. At the plate, Stearns has emerged lately and is hitting .300 with four doubles after a big weekend against Bemidji State.
The pitchers throwing to Stearns have been solid, as well, with sophomore
Adam Kramer emerging as one of the top young starters in the league. He carries a 23-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and his walk rate ranks second in the country. He's joined by fellow control specialist
Andy Fagely, a junior. Fagely walks just 1.5 per 9-innings and had a 1.77 ERA before his latest start last Saturday.
Seniors
Ben Lemke and
Chris Peterson are expected to start and finish the 4-game series, respectively. Peterson delivered in his role as the team's stopper* last Sunday, preventing the Golden Bears from a 4-game series sweep by throwing 6.0 3-hit innings to get the win.
* - the term "stopper" is often mistakenly used to describe a team's "closer" but the term was developed for a top pitcher who is called upon to "stop" a losing streak, or to slow down a hot-hitting team in a series
