ST. PAUL, Minn. - This weekend's four game series scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Mankato, Minn. has been moved up a day to Friday and Saturday due to predicted rain on Sunday. The series will feature Concordia-St. Paul (15-13, 13-7 NSIC) take on fifth-ranked Minnesota State (25-4, 15-3 NSIC) which will pit the second and fourth ranked teams in the Northern Sun against each other.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Golden Bears have been excellent on the road this season with an 8-2 record including sweeps at U-Mary (4) and Wayne State (2) while picking up doubleheader splits at Bemidji State and Northern State. All 10 of Concordia's road games have come during a stretch which has the team playing 16 of 18 road contests including the current 12-game road stand which comes to a close next Wednesday, April 22 with a doubleheader at Southwest Minnesota State.

Once the Golden Bears are out of the extended road stretch, the team returns home for eight straight games at Barnes Field to close out the season with four game weekend series against Winona State and Sioux Falls. Concordia has played just two home games at Barnes Field this year.

SERIES HISTORY: Minnesota State 20, Concordia 4
The series records date back to spring of 2000 when Concordia joined the NSIC and Division II ranks when the Mavericks were members of the now-defunct North Central Conference (NCC). The Mavericks hold a 20-4 lead in the series with half of Concordia's wins coming in just eight contests played at MSU's home field. In the most recent trip to the Key City, Concordia split a 2012 doubleheader with the Mavericks. Overall, MSU has won three straight in the series including last year's NSIC Tournament elimination game in Sioux Falls, S.D. This weekend's series will mark the first time that the programs will square off in a four game weekend set.

INDIVIDUAL HITTING NOTES VS MINNESOTA STATE
Alex LaPorte is a career .600 hitter (3-5) against MSU in two games (one start), going 2-3 with two RBI and a sacrifice last year in the NSIC Tournament and 1-2 as a freshman in 2013 in a reserve appearance ... Kyle Dalton is hitting .316 (6-19) with a .350 on base percentage in five games against MSU with two sacrifice hits. Last year he went 2-5 against MSU in the NSIC Tournament and went 3-6 in two games in 2013 ... Tyler Krekling went 3-4 with a double and an RBI in last year's NSIC Tournament game against MSU in his only action against the Mavericks ... Joe Muench went 1-4 with a run against the Mavericks last season ... Eric Fasnacht is 1-7 against MSU, but went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI in the 2013 doubleheader in his freshman year. He also has not committed an error in three games against MSU with three put outs and seven assists.

INDIVIDUAL PITCHING NOTES VS MINNESOTA STATE
Josh Lenz made a relief appearance as a freshman in last year's NSIC Tournament game, working 1.0 inning, allowing an unearned run on one hit with a strikeout ... Adam Fredericks has one appearance against MSU, working 0.2 innings of relief with a strikeout while retiring the only two batters he faced last year ... Tyler Brekke has one appearance, a 2013 start against the Mavericks as he pitched 7.1 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk. He only allowed one extra base hit, a double among the six hits and carries a 2.45 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and a .231 opposing batting average.

TEAM COMPARISON
The Golden Bear pitchers will have their work cut out for them as MSU leads the league in average (.366), on base (.435) and slugging (.547) while Concordia's bats counter with a .312 (6th), .377 (9th), .399 (12th) slash line. Concordia's pitching and defense have been strengths for three years in a row, though as the Golden Bears rank fourth in the league in team ERA (4.89), sixth in opponent batting average (.287), third in strikeouts per game (7.53) and fourth in fewest walks allowed (3.45) while also ranking third in fewest doubles (1.56) and second in fewest homers allowed (0.52). The Mavericks also boast strong team pitching with the second ranked ERA (4.52), fifth ranked opponent average (.286) and are sixth in strikeouts (7.18) and sixth in walks (3.69).

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State has won eight straight games including a nationally-recognized 41-20 win at Bemidji State on April 11. MSU has only lost one home conference game, a 5-0 defeat to St. Cloud State on March 31 with their other two losses coming on a weekend split at Minnesota Duluth. MSU went 10-1 in non-conference play with its only loss to Northwood (3-2).

Max Waletich leads the Mavericks in hitting at .430 with eight home runs and 33 RBI while Kevin Kramer is hitting .424 with seven stolen bases and Nolan Johnson is hitting .416 with 16 doubles. All seven regulars (2.5 PA/team game) are hitting at least .321 with a .425 on base percentage and .477 slugging percentage with 22 runs and 19 RBI and a minimum of nine extra base hits.

LINEUP NOTES (sorted by most recent batting orders)
With the NSIC season surpassing the midway point, this weekend's preview will feature a player-by-player breakdown of the starting nine players as well as starting pitchers

KYLE DALTON NOTES
Senior Kyle Dalton is the team's leadoff hitter and starting center fielder, is a four year starter and recently became the third player in team history to reach 200 career hits. The 2014 All-America utility player is a .379/.430/.431 career hitter (206-543) in 150 games (all starts) with 109 runs, 17 doubles, four triples, a homer, 61 RBI and 22 stolen bases. In 543 at bats, he's struck out just 52 times while drawing 45 walks with 18 career sacrifices.

As a senior, Dalton is hitting .361/.402/.444 (39-108) with 21 runs, five doubles, two triples and 10 RBI while swiping a team-high seven stolen bases. He's tied for the team lead in hits, second in runs, third in average and slugging while committing just one error in center field. He's second on the team with 12 multiple-hit games and leads the team with six three-hit games.

His 14-game hitting streak is a team long for the year (12 games in 2015, 2 in 2014). He had a 25-game hit streak in 2014 which covered the first 14 games of 2014 and the final 11 of 2013.

Dalton ranks eighth in the league in stolen bases (7) and sacrifice bunts (5) and 14th in hits per game (1.39).

ALEX LAPORTE NOTES
Junior second baseman Alex LaPorte has found himself hitting second in the order as of late with four straight starts batting behind Dalton where the team has produced a 3-1 record. He's fourth on the team in hitting (.298) while getting on base at a .355 clip and leads the team with six sacrifice bunts. He's 4-4 stealing bases and is fourth on the team with eight multiple-hit games.

He's a career .302/.373/.313 hitter (55-182) in 74 games (61 starts) and ranks sixth in the league in sacrifice bunts, seventh in the league in turning double plays (22) and 16th in fielding assists (67).

ANDREW SHOTWELL NOTES
Andrew Shotwell, a redshirt freshman in his third in the program has been a versatile and clutch threat for the Golden Bears. In his first career at bat as a reserve off the bench in the season opener in Tucson, Shotwell delivered a walk-off double against Minot State in extra innings. He added another walk-off hit against Minnesota Crookston during NSIC opening weekend in Minnetonka. He's hit third in the lineup 11 times where Concordia holds an 8-3 record, has started 20 games at first base where the team is 14-6 with him defensively. He's also started twice at third base, once in left field, twice in right field and once as the designated hitter.

In his debut season on the field, Shotwell is hitting .295/.364/.398 (26-88) and is third on the team in doubles (6) and RBI (15) while also producing the third most sacrifice bunts (4). He has three multiple-RBI games and seven multiple-hit games along with a season-long eight game hitting streak against UM Crookston, UM Duluth and Wayne State that saw his average increase from .222 to .357.

CONNOR OLSON NOTES
A true freshman, Connor Olson's line drive swing quickly found itself in the cleanup spot in the lineup as the team's primary designated hitter and backup catcher. He's currently riding a nine game hitting streak, the longest active streak on the team which includes a 4-4 performance against St. Cloud State pitching. He's third on the team with 11 multi-hit games along with one of two four-hit games for the team on the season. He's tied for second on the team with three multi-RBI games as well. He's hit cleanup in 23 of the team's 28 games while starting at DH 18 times and catcher eight times.

Olson is second on the team across his slash line at .378/.430/.490 while his 37 hits is third on the team (37-98). He's also second on the team in doubles (8) and RBI (18) and has struck out just nine times in 98 at bats as a rookie Division II player. He's 16th in the NSIC in hits per game (1.37) and 18th in the league in fewest strikeouts per game (0.33). He hit his first career home run against Minnesota Crookston (3/22/15, G2).

ERIC FASNACHT NOTES
The third year starting shortstop has been Concordia's top run producer while hitting fifth in all 26 of the games he's been in the lineup, only missing two games during the spring trip due to injury. In 100 career games (99 starts), Fasnacht is a .336/.397/.482 hitter (113-336) with 64 runs, 18 doubles, eight triples, five home runs and 57 RBI with six stolen bases. He's also turned 66 double plays and has 290 assists defensively to rank second in program history in both areas with the glove.

As a junior, he's enjoying his breakout campaign offensively with career highs of .402/.434/.691 (39-97), nine doubles, five home runs, 26 RBI and four stolen bases in 26 games - 14 fewer games than a year ago. He's also scored 23 runs and hit a pair of triples.

Like Olson hitting ahead of him, he's been difficult for opposing pitchers to strikeout, ranking 12th in the league with 0.27 strikeouts per game which ranked in the top-100 in Division II baseball players for toughest to strikeout (13.9 AB/K). He's ranked 33rd in the country in hitting, 29th in slugging, 80th in RBI, 102nd in homers and doubles and in the top-200 in triples and on base percentage.

In the NSIC, Fasnacht ranks seventh in hitting, eighth in slugging, 17th in total bases, seventh in hits per game (1.50), 14th in doubles (0.35), ninth in triples (0.08), 11th in home runs (0.19), 12th in RBI (1.00), second in total fielding assists (87) and 10th in double plays (19) as one of the most complete players in the league.

He leads the team with 13 multiple-hit games including four three-hit performances and leads the team with five multi-RBI games and just recently had the second longest hitting streak on the team snapped at 10 games against Northern State.

RYAN POPPITZ NOTES
Completing the left side of a strong defensive infield along side Eric Fasnacht as Ryan Poppitz at the hot corner. Like Fasnacht, Poppitz is a third year starter for the Golden Bears playing in 99 career games (95 starts) with a .274/.345/.385 (57-343) batting line with 20 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 54 RBI and 57 runs. As a junior, Poppitz is hitting .297/.336/.366 (30-101) with five doubles, a triple, 14 runs and 10 RBI. After swapping with Shotwell in the lineup, Poppitz has helped the team to an 8-3 record and is currently riding a seven game hitting streak to lift his average nearly 20 points.

TREVON BARGFREDE NOTES
Primarily starting in right field and hitting seventh, Trevon Bargfrede is a third year starter for the Golden Bears and has been a steady run producer from the lower third of the lineup. He has five multiple hit games and is tied for second on the team with three multi-RBI games. When penciled into the seventh spot in the order this year, the team has produced a 13-6 record. As a senior, Bargfrede is hitting .286/.329/.377 and is fifth on the team in RBI (11) and fourth in doubles (5) while stealing four bases in as many chances.

As a Golden Bear, Bargfrede has played in 84 and started 60 games and is a .269/.330/.368 hitter (54-201) with nine doubles, a triple and three home runs with seven stolen bases.

DAVD HENKE NOTES
The starting catcher for Concordia, the Golden Bears have produced a 13-6 record when David Henke is slotted in the eighth spot in the lineup just like the team's record with Bargfrede batting seventh. After spending his first two years as the team's second catcher in which he drew 18 total starts, Henke has played and started 21 times as a junior and has seen his hitting increase each year including the jump from .257 to .300 between his sophomore and junior seasons. He's hitting .300/.425/.333 (18-60) on the year, has scored 11 runs runs and driven in eight with nine walks and four hit by pitch along with three sacrifice bunts. His .425 on base percentage would be third on the team with the minimum plate appearances to qualify for the NSIC & NCAA leaders (2.5 PA per team game) and he's thrown out six base stealers on the season.

TYLER KREKLING NOTES
After hitting second for a majority of the season, Tyler Krekling has responded well in his production in a shift to the lower third of the order as the team has won three of the last four games since the change. He's hit 3-13 with three walks, three runs and an RBI along with a stolen base. On the year, Krekling is a .282/.404/.318 hitter with his on base percentage standing out and ranking third on the team. He's drawn a team-high 17 walks and been hit by pitch three times with three stolen bases in as many tries. He ranks third on the team with 17 runs scored and has delivered 13 RBI which ranks fourth on the squad. He's fourth on the team with eight multiple hit performances and tied for second with three multi-RBI games.

As a two year starter, Krekling is a .290/.401/.330 hitter (58-200) with 33 walks and 29 strikeouts in 64 games (61 starts) while scoring 44 runs and driving in 33.

PITCHING STAFF (sorted by innings pitched)
KODY KNAUS NOTES
In his first year as a Golden Bear, Kody Knaus has been solid in six appearances (five starts) with a 2-1 record and a save in 29.1 innings. He holds a 3.68 ERA and 1.33 WHIP with a 24-11 strikeout to walk ratio and a .259 opponent average, allowing just four extra base hits in 108 opponent at bats. He's pitched at least six innings in his last four starts and has allowed two earned runs or less in four of his five starts on the year. In his last start, Knaus picked up the win pitching into the seventh inning (6.1), allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits with five strikeouts at U-Mary. He's been a weekend starter for the Golden Bears in three of the four weekend series, with the lone exception being the Bemidji State shortened weekend in which he recorded a save in relief.

KEVIN WOEBKE NOTES
A sophomore and second year starting pitcher, Kevin Woebke is turning in his second straight productive season with a 5-4 career record in 10 starts (12 appearances) with a save and a 3.48 career ERA in 64.2 innings. He's struck out nearly a batter per inning in his two years with 64 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .258 average and a 1.34 WHIP with just nine extra base hits surrendered in 279 opponent at bats.

This year, Woebke is 2-2 in five starts with a 3.99 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 29.1 innings to tie Knaus for the team lead in innings. He's registered 34 strikeouts to 10 walks and allowed four extra base hits (126 opponent AB). He's pitched at least four innings in all five starts and worked six or more frames three times. In his last start, Woebke struck out seven over six innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits in a no decision at U-Mary. He struck out a career high 11 batters in a loss to Minnesota Duluth and has registered at least five strikeouts in all five starts. He's made a start in all four weekend series' this season.

ZACH RENGEL NOTES
A third year starting pitcher, Zach Rengel leads the team in wins (3-1) and strikeouts (40) on the season in five starts and 29.0 innings. He holds a 3.41 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with a strong 40-9 strikeout-walk ratio and .221 opponent average. He fanned double-digit hitters in back-to-back starts with 10 strikeouts in six innings against Minnesota Crookston and 11 strikeouts in seven innings against Minnesota Duluth, issuing no walks in either start. In his last start, he went the distance to open the U-Mary weekend series with a win, allowing two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. He's struck out at least seven hitters in his last four starts and pitched at least four innings in all five starts this year.

Over his career, Rengel is 11-7 in 22 starts (24 appearances) with a 2.68 ERA in 121.0 innings with 117 strikeouts and a 1.27 WHIP. He's started game one of each of Concordia's weekend series this year.

CODY SCHACHT NOTES
A first year member of the program, Schacht is fourth on the team with 25.1 innings in five starts and has only walked two batters all season with a 15-2 strikeout-walk ratio. He's 2-2 with a 7.82 ERA and 1.66 WHIP on the year. He's worked at least five innings in four of his five starts and is coming off of a six inning, four earned run no decision at Northern State in a game that the Golden Bears won in extra innings. In his top start of the year, Schacht picked up a seven inning win, allowing one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts and a walk at Wayne State to complete a doublehader sweep. Schacht has started the last three mid-week contests including this week at Northern State and will likely not start this weekend at MSU.

JOSH LENZ NOTES
Sophomore Josh Lenz has become a vital member of the pitching staff and over his two seasons as a Golden Bear has produced a 4-0 record in 15 appearances (five starts) with a 3.20 ERA in 45.0 innings with a 1.38 WHIP and a .210 opponent batting average. He has struck out nearly a batter per inning with 42 strikeouts across 45 frames.

This year, he's appeared in six games with three starts and is 2-0 with a save and a 3.24 ERA in 25.0 innings with 23 strikeouts and a .200 opponent average and 1.44 WHIP. After a complete game win at Wayne State in which he allowed three unearned runs with six strikeouts, Lenz was inserted into the weekend rotation at U-Mary, getting the fourth game of the series. He worked 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on two hits with seven strikeouts and five walks to improve to 2-0 as he has won his last two outings. Due to his recent run of success, he could be in line for a weekend start at Minnesota State this weekend.

TYLER BREKKE NOTES
Junior Tyler Brekke, a fourth year pitcher in the program made his season debut last Wednesday against St. Cloud State and pitched five strong innings, allowing two earned runs against the #7 Huskies. He returned to start at Northern State this week on Wednesday, taking a hard luck loss allowing a single run (solo HR) on three hits in a complete game (six innings) to fall to 0-1. In two starts this year, Brekke is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.

As a Golden Bear, Brekke is 2-4 in 20 appearances (12 starts) with four complete games and four saves. He's never had an ERA higher than 2.60 in a season and holds a 2.36 career ERA in 87.2 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .195 average having faced 351 batters. He has a 1.00 career WHIP.

BULLPEN NOTES
YUJI SUZUKI NOTES
Although he has tossed 24.2 innings on the year, Yuji Suzuki has turned into a bullpen weapon for the Golden Bears, capable of pitching multiple innings and in big situations. He holds a 2-3 record with two saves in eight appearances (two starts) with 18 strikeouts and a .268 opponent average. He has a 5.47 ERA and 1.54 WHIP on the year and is coming off wins in back-to-back long relief appearances with 7.0 shutout innings, allowing five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts against U-Mary (3.0 IP) and Northern State (4.0 IP). He earned his first save of the year in his second appearance with two shutout innings with four strikeouts against Minot State and saved his second game with three one-hit shutout innings against Minnesota Crookston in NSIC opening weekend. He's pitched at least three innings in an appearance five times and has pitched at least four innings in each of his two starts.

In his career, Suzuki is 7-6 with three saves in 22 appearances (eight starts) covering 77.2 innings with 56 strikeouts, a 5.68 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a .270 opponent average.

ERIK MONSON NOTES
With one start among his five appearances, sophomore Erik Monson has pitched 14.2 innings on the year with an 0-1 record and a save. Most recently, he worked 3.2 shutout innings for a save at U-Mary, allowing just a hit and two walks on 50 pitches. He also tossed two scoreless frames in relief at Wayne State to close out a doubleheader sweep. In his five appearances, he has pitched at least 2.0 innings four times.

MISCELLANEOUS BULLPEN NOTES
Four other relievers have pitched at least four times this year and registered at least five innings this year led by senior Adam Fredericks with six appearances and 9.2 innings. Fredericks has a 4.66 ERA in his senior campaign and holds a 1-1 record with three saves in 23 total appearances with a 5.17 career ERA in 31.1 innings ... sophomore Hunter Linstrom also has six appearances for seven innings and a 6.43 ERA with a 1-0 record and five strikeouts. In two years with Concordia's bullpen, Lindstrom is 2-1 with a save in 19.0 innings in 12 appearances, a 6.16 ERA and 1.32 WHIP and .278 opponent average ... Patrick Courtney has appeared in four games without a decision with 5.2 innings, a 4.76 ERA and 3-0 strikeout-walk ratio ... Tyler Schmitz has five appearances with a 1-1 record in 8.2 innings, working at least a full inning in all five of his appearances including his last two outings with 2.0-plus frames.