ST. PAUL, Minn. - This weekend, the Concordia baseball team (19-13 | 10-8 NSIC) gets a tough test when they play a 4-game series against #15th-ranked St. Cloud State (25-10 | 10-6 NSIC). The series will be a split location, with a 1:00 p.m. 7/9-inning doubleheader on Saturday in St. Cloud, Minn. at Faber Field followed by senior day at Barnes Field in St. Paul on Sunday, a 7/9-inning noon doubleheader. The games will feature online coverage.
WEEKLY NOTES | LIVE: No live coverage on Monday at SCSU
The Golden Bears and Huskies have each posted 5-5 records in their last 10 games, which has dropped SCSU from fourth in the nation to 15th. The Golden Bears have been as high as fifth in the region poll, but are now 10th after the 5-5 stretch of play. Yet both teams are still in the thick of chasing postseason baseball and the head-to-head contests should be intense.
The Golden Bears and Huskies have met 20 times, with Concordia posting an 8-11-1 record against SCSU. The Huskies joined the NSIC in the 2009 baseball season and the teams split their first two head-to-head 4-game series. But last year, SCSU grabbed the upper hand by sweeping three games with the fourth being rained out.
Expect both teams to be armed with their top four starting pitchers, providing a tremendous head-to-head matchup. The Huskies feature one of the top starting rotations in the conference while the Golden Bears boast one of the top offenses.
Concordia is led by
Bryan Lippincott, who is hitting .703 (26-37) while reaching base safely in 40 of his last 51 plate appearances in the last 12 games, with six home runs and 21 RBI. He's drawn 10 walks (six intentional) during the 12-game run while maintaining the top batting average in the country at .555.
