ST. PAUL, Minn. - On Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., the Concordia baseball team (18-12, 9-7 NSIC) will host Winona State (18-13, 13-7) in a key conference doubleheader at Barnes Field. The mid-week doubleheader concludes a 10-game homestand although six of Concordia's next eight games are at Barnes Field before closing out the year with a 10-game road swing. Fans who can't make it to Barnes Field can follow online. LIVE: WATCH | STATS
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Comparison
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CU
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Stats
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WSU
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18-12
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OVR
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18-13
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9-7
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NSIC
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13-7
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NR
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Rank
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NR
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|
9
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Reg
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RV
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|
.341
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AVG
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.328
|
|
.407
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OBP
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.425
|
|
.472
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SLG
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.511
|
|
68
|
2B
|
73
|
|
9
|
3B
|
5
|
|
15
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HR
|
33
|
|
15-23
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SB-A
|
25-29
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|
5.24
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ERA
|
5.20
|
|
.289
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OAV
|
.297
|
|
6
|
SV
|
4
|
|
7.6
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K/9
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5.4
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|
3.2
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BB/9
|
4.1
|
|
.960
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FLD%
|
.964
|
|
20
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DP
|
27
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The Warriors are winners of nine straight games and just a season removed from reaching the NCAA Division II Championship. They have vaulted into third in the Northern Sun standings after a slow 4-7 start to the league slate.
Concordia is coming off of their NSIC bye weekend, splitting a Saturday doubleheader against Sioux Falls before Sunday's action was rained out. The Golden Bears have split with their last four opponents.
The Golden Bears are led by the national batting leader,Bryan Lippincott as his .544 average leads the country. Lippincott is also second in the nation in on base percentage (.634) and slugging (.951). Lippincott is also third in the country in doubles, hitting 0.53 per game with 16 through 30 games. With 40 RBI in 30 games, he's seventh in the nation in driving in runs as well.
The Warriors, meanwhile, are led by the top power hitter in the conference, Nate Van Roekel, who usually bats at the top of the lineup and has slugged nine homers so far this year to lead the leauge. Seth McMullen's 15 doubles (0.5/game) put him fourth in the nation, right behind Lippincott. As a team, WSU is sixth in the country in home run rate, with 1.03 per game while their .511 slugging is ninth in the land.
With Concordia's games getting rained out on Sunday, the Golden Bears could turn to experienced starting pitchers Ben Lemke and Andy Fagely who each last pitched against Upper Iowa last Wednesday.
Last week, the Warriors used Mike Wasilik and Tyler Zemla for midweek starts against Minnesota Duluth with each going 6.0 innings. In six appearances (three starts), Wasilik is 2-0 with a 4.29 ERA with a 10-15 K-BB ratio in 21.0 innings. Zemla has also made six appearances and three starts and is 2-1 with a 5.79 ERA, a 12-16 K-BB ratio in 18.2 innings. Another starting candidate includes Aaron Hoverson who did not start over the weekend at Minnesota Crookston and is 2-2 with a 4.60 ERA with five starts (seven appearances), holding a 20-7 K-BB ratio in 31.1 innings.
