LINKS: ROBERTSON WOODS FIELD | DIRECTIONS | LIVE STATS
ST. PAUL, Minn. - This weekend, Concordia-St. Paul (9-7, 2-2 NSIC) will face Winona State (8-8, 2-0) in a four game NSIC series this Saturday and Sunday starting at 1 p.m. each day. The games, originally scheduled to be played at Winona State, have been relocated to Robertson Woods Field on the campus of Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa.
Series history...
Concordia and Winona State met earlier this year with Concordia sweeping the Warriors at the Metrodome. Concordia is now 21-28 all-time against WSU and 12-17 on the road at WSU. Concordia has won the last three games in the all-time series, and four of the last five.
Seeking 300...
Concordia head baseball coach
Mark “Lunch” McKenzie is now within striking distance of his 300th career win, with a 296-231-1 career record in his 14th season leading the club.
Power returns...
After going without a home run in 12 games at the Metrodome, the team slugged three homers over the weekend against BSU in the club's first action outdoors at Karras Park in Sioux Falls.
Rookie Lefty shines...
Concordia's rookie southpaw
Zach Rengel (Fergus Falls, Minn.) was dominant against a solid, veteran Bemidji State lineup on Saturday in a 6-1 victory. He struck out a career-high nine with just one walk, allowing three hits over six innings. He allowed one run while holding BSU to a team .143 average to earn his first collegiate win while making his fourth start of the year. In his first four starts, Rengel has a 2.84 ERA over 19.0 innings with 23 strikeouts to just four walks while pitching at least four innings in every start.
Larpenter breaks out...
Concordia center fielder
Greg Larpenter (Urbandale, Iowa) hit .417 (5-12) with a .533 on-base percentage and a .833 slugging percentage to help Concordia to a split with Bemidji State. Larpenter had a pair of doubles, a home run and led the team with six RBI in the series. He was also perfect in center, adding an outfield assist. In Concordia's two wins in the series, Larpenter went 4-6 with a double, a homer, two runs and four RBI. On Friday in game two, Larpenter was 2-3 with an RBI double, while going 2-3 with a three run home run in game one on Saturday. He's reached base safely in every game this season (hit, walk or hit by pitch), a streak of 16 games.
Pitching notes...
Concordia's pitching staff has produced a 3.42 earned run average, ranking 30th in Division II while walking just 2.43 batters per nine innings which ranks as the eighth-best in the country. The team has a 2.66 strikeout-walk ratio as a staff (30th) and the 19th-best WHIP in the nation (1.21). They've limited opposing hitters to just 8.44 hits per nine innings, ranking 33rd nationally.
Adam 'n' Andy - Aces of the staff...
While Rengel has been tremendous in his first four starts as a freshman, the pitching staff has been anchored by veteran right handers
Andy Fagely (Mahtomedi, Minn.) and
Adam Kramer (Wausau, Wis.). Fagely ranks 15th in the nation in control (0.88 BB/9) and 35th in strikeout-walk ratio (6.7). Kramer's 1.50 ERA is currently 45th in the country. Kramer is 2-1 in four starts, holding opponents to a .229 average in 24.0 innings. Fagely is 3-0 with a 2.64 ERA with a 20-3 K-BB ratio in 30.2 innings over five starts.
Bullpen notes...
Senior left hander
Griff Kilber (Chanhassen, Minn.) leads the pitching staff with six appearances and holds a 1.69 ERA over 16.0 innings. He's been solid in short relief and long relief and could still be a candidate to start. Opponents hit .250 against him. While Concordia rarely has had a true closer in years past, redshirt freshman
Tyler Brekke (Lakeville, Minn.) has emerged as a candidate for the late inning role as of late. He's made three appearances with two saves and has finished all three games he's pitched. In 2.2 innings, he's yet to allow a hit or walk and has three strikeouts with a perfect ERA and WHIP. Like Kilber, Brekke was also mentioned as a candidate to start in the preseason.
DEFENSE...DEFENSE...
The Golden Bears boast tremendous gloves all over the diamond and it's showing up statistically as the team has produced a .974 team fielding percentage, currently 12th in the country. They've produced 13 double plays in 16 games, which ranks 58th in Division II (0.81/game). More importantly, they pass the 'eye test,' making web gem-type plays consistently and all over the field. The outfield has six assists and just one total error, while the middle infield tandem of
Kyle Dalton (Minnetonka, Minn.) and
Eric Fasnacht (Eden Prairie, Minn.) has just one error with six and eight double plays, respectively.
