SCSU HUSKY DOME LIVE STATS
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Despite the wintery conditions outside, the Concordia University softball team kicks off their season this weekend with a trip to St. Cloud for four games indoors in the Husky Dome. The Golden Bears open their season with a 1 p.m. game on Friday against Missouri Western State and games against Northwest Missouri State, Nebraska-Kearney and Emporia State at 8 a.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday, respectively.
Concordia is coming off a season in which they went 29-16 and 15-9 in NSIC play and a trip to the NSIC Tournament. The Golden Bears knocked off Wayne State in the opening round game of the NSIC Tournament before they dropped a pair to Minnesota Duluth and Winona State to end the weather-shortened season.
There will be a lot of new faces in this year's lineup after losing four impact seniors to graduation. "We are very young. We'll start three, sometimes four freshmen and also a few sophomores so it will be kind of a learning curve as we go," said 10
th year head coach
Bob Bartel (303-185) about the youth of his team.
When asked how they were going to replace that missing production, Bartel stated, "We are going to try to replace their production with freshmen. Our starting shortstop will be a freshman, our starting catcher will be a freshman, our number two pitcher will be a freshman and we will have a freshman first baseman mixing in at the DP spot. We are going to rely on some freshmen to produce just like we relied on the seniors that graduated to produce when they were freshmen."
Despite having so many newcomers filling key roles, expectations are still high for the squad. Bartel pointed out, "We expect to make the conference tournament again and battle for an NCAA Tournament berth."
One hole that will need to be filled is on the mound after losing senior
Ashley Kluever. The team will run out a combination of junior
Stephanie Kappes and freshman
Linzy Heim with sophomore
Teona Zepeda filling the role of third pitcher. Bartel likes what he has seen so far and pointed out that he's confident that there won't be much of a drop-off in pitching.
Kappes went 11-5 with a 3.27 ERA in 24 appearances and 18 starts. She struck out 108 hitters in 124.0 innings while walking only 41. "Kappes had a fantastic fall. She is very experienced. She has pitched in a lot of big games since she was a freshman. She pitched in the NCAA Super Regional when she was a freshman and has pitched a lot of conference games in her career," said Bartel of the experienced right-hander.
Heim, a freshman from Nebraska, will likely be making her collegiate debut this weekend in St. Cloud. "Linzy brings consistency and she likes to work inside. She's not afraid to come in on girl's hands. She brings a pretty good four pitch combination," Bartel said.
Behind the plate the Golden Bears will be featuring another freshman in
Elena Koncar. The 5-6 backstop comes to Concordia from New Berlin, Wis. Bartel said, "Koncar has a strong arm and has made big improvements both defensively and at the plate since she has been here. She has a little pop in her bat and will hit sixth for us."
The infield will be a mix of newcomers and veterans, starting off at first base which will be shared by veteran
Tessa Ewert and newcomer
Liz Jarosz.
Ewert appeared in 24 games, starting 17 of them, and hit three home runs as she collected 11 hits in total. With 91 career starts, the senior brings experience to the young lineup.
Jarosz, a freshman from Chippewa Falls, Wis., is a powerful bat that will slot in the middle of the Golden Bear lineup. She will be hitting fourth as she splits time between first base and designated player.
One of the most experienced positions on the field for Concordia will be second base. "
Bekah Roth, our senior, will be a staple at second base. She will hit in the fifth spot and hopefully drive in some runs for us and be a leader in the field," said Bartel about the veteran keystone. Roth had an excellent season last year as she started all 45 games and hit .315 with team-leading seven home runs and 34 RBI.
Navarae Honoroff will be tasked with filling the shortstop role that was left vacant with the graduation of
Brynn Larsen. Honoroff, a converted third baseman, should bring a solid defensive presence to the position. "Honoroff has shown drastic improvement since the beginning of the year. She has great hands and will be steady at shortstop for us," said Bartel about the freshman from Irondale High School.
Roaming third base again this season will be sophomore
Jamie Fleischhacker. She burst onto the scene last season as a freshman and hit .325 with a .407 on-base percentage and a .405 slugging percentage. She started nearly every game and picked up 41 hits and 24 RBI on the year. Bartel pointed out, "Fleischhacker was First Team All-Conference last year as a freshman so we will be looking for her to stabilize the corner for us. She will be hitting in the three hole for us and I think she will be even better than she was last year."
Backing up all of the infield spots will be
Emily Shinn. Shinn, a freshman from Lakeville North High School, is a strong defensive player who will serve as the utility infielder.
The outfield brings more experience with all three starters returning from last year's squad. Zepeda will start in left,
Alicia Meiser in center and
Cassie Bertelsen is the favorite to start in right.
Zepeda, a left handed thrower and hitter, hit .290 last year as a freshman and collected 36 hits and four steals. She will be a player counted on to fill a bigger role at the top of the lineup. Bartel had very positive things to say about her improvement, stating, "Teona has had a great fall and great spring. She has gotten stronger and faster and she is hitting the ball extremely well right now."
Meiser enters her junior year as Concordia's all-time leader in career batting average (.382) and on-base percentage (.454) and ranks third in career steals with 69. The dynamic outfielder hit .385 and swiped an NSIC leading 37 bases last year. She had a team-best 55 hits and a .460 on-base percentage. "Meiser is an All-Region kid who hits at the top of the order and brings a lot of speed to the lineup. She puts a ton of pressure on the infield and defense as a whole when she's at the plate and on the bases," said Bartel.
Bertelsen started almost every game last year and picked up 16 hits, including three homers. She has been an everyday player over her first two years at CU. She came back to campus in great shape in the fall and will look to take a step forward this season.
Bertelsen has some competition in right field as
Kelly McKenzie is also in the mix for playing time. McKenzie hit .219 as a freshman last year in 28 games and reached base at a .324 clip while stealing three bases.
Taylor Linn will also be in the mix in the outfield. Linn, a freshman from Mounds View High School, is a converted infielder with good range and good instincts in the outfield.
Frankie Munkwitz will also be counted on as a bat off the bench for Concordia. Munkwitz played sparingly as a freshman last year and will bring some power in pinch hitting situations.
Speed at the top of the lineup, pop in the middle and consistent pitching will be the keys to success for the Golden Bears. "What I'm looking for is maturity. I want to see how we mature as a team and how the youngsters mature as far as playing the game and how they react to adversity," said Bartel about what he hopes to see in the early going. "Mistakes are going to happen. What I'm looking for is how we react to mistakes. Can we learn from them, or do we let them get us down?"
The Golden Bears have 20 non-conference games scheduled, with trips to Florida and Missouri, before opening conference play with a doubleheader against Minnesota State on March 25th at Carlander Field.
