ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul and Sioux Falls officials have announced that this weekend's Northern Sun baseball series originally scheduled for Sioux Falls, South Dakota has been reversed to Concordia's campus and Barnes Field due to weather.

Sioux Falls has experienced heavy rain this week, which is expected to continue this weekend and has also forced numerous schedule changes to the NSIC Softball Tournament which will also be played in the community. St. Paul has a favorable weekend outlook with temperatures predicted in the low 60's and little-to-no chance of precipitation.

POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS
Concordia (21-11, 14-9 NSIC) and Sioux Falls (17-22-1, 10-12-1) are both in the race for NSIC Tournament bids, with the league taking eight of the 15 baseball playing members for the postseason event in St. Cloud, Minnesota starting on May 11. Currently, Concordia is in a virtual tie with Minnesota State (13-8) for fifth place, while Sioux Falls is in eighth place, leading Northern State by approximately three games for the final spot in the field. Concordia has reached the conference tournament each of the last three years with the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds and has captured NSIC Tournament Championships twice (2003 & 2008).

ONLINE COVERAGE
The series is scheduled to have an audio broadcast through Concordia's GameCentral portal hosted by Stretch Internet with the Voice of the Golden Bears Dan Flanagan calling the action. Flanagan is a trained broadcaster with a degree from Fordham University where he gained on-air experience at the Division I level. The St. Paul native has been the voice of the Golden Bears since the 2008-09 academic year. His call will be supplemented by live stats in Concordia's GameCentral portal through Stretch Internet, along with the traditional desktop live stats format. All broadcasts are weather-permitting due to a lack of shelter for the press area at Barnes Field, but live stats will be displayed in both formats regardless of weather conditions.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Golden Bears gain an extra four home games and will look to use its 12-3 home record to an advantage against Sioux Falls as the Cougars enter play 12-15 in road contests including a 6-5 NSIC road record in conference games.

SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears are 9-3 against the Cougars, having played four game series each of the last three years with Sioux Falls being one of the two newest entrants to the Northern Sun along with Minot State. At Barnes Field, Concordia holds a 6-2 mark against the Cougars, splitting a four game set in 2013 before sweeping USF last season. Concordia has won six in a row and eight of the last nine in the series.

PLAYER NOTES VS SIOUX FALLS (12 games since 2013)
Eric Fasnacht holds a .293/.380/.488 (12-41) line in 12 games, scoring 10 and driving in 12 runs with two doubles and two home runs along with two stolen bases. Last year, Fasnacht hit .417/.500/1.00 (5-12) with a double, two homers and eight RBI in the four game sweep ... Ryan Poppitz is a career .351/.520/.432 (13-37) hitter in 12 games against the Cougars, scoring six and driving in five runs with three doubles, eight walks, and five HBP. Last year, Poppitz hit .636/.765/.818 (7-11) in the sweep with three runs, two doubles and three RBI, walking and getting hit by pitch three times ... Andrew Shotwell hit .500/.533/.667 (6-12) in last year's sweep, adding three runs, two doubles and eight RBI while walking twice without a strikeout ... Connor Olson hit .400/.500/.533 (6-15) with five runs, two doubles and three RBI last year in the four game sweep ... although David Henke does not have a hit against USF (0-9) in six games, he holds a staggering .526 on base percentage with eight walks, two hit by pitch and a sacrifice along with three runs and an RBI. Last year, Henke was 0-4 in three games with two runs, five walks and a HBP for a .600 OBP ... Adam Hildebrandt hit .250/.500/.250 (2-8) in four games (three starts) with four runs, three walks, an HBP and three sacrifices ...

PITCHER NOTES VS SIOUX FALLS (12 games since 2013)
Kevin Woebke has been excellent against the Cougars in two starts, working to a 2-0 record without allowing a run, limiting USF to three singles with seven strikeouts to two walks. Last year, Woebke started a predetermined committee game in the season finale, pitching two perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts. In his first start against USF as a freshman in 2014, Woebke pitched a complete game (7.0 IP) shutout, allowing three singles, two walks and five strikeouts ... in one start, Kody Knaus is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in a complete game (7.0 IP), allowing a run on four hits with four strikeouts and a walk as he held USF to .167 hitting ... Yuji Suzuki has pitched three times against the Cougars, once each of the previous three seasons while compiling a 2-1 record and 3.75 ERA. He's appeared twice in relief and made a start as a sophomore, working a complete game (7.0 IP) shutout, allowing four hits, a walk and five strikeouts. Last year, Suzuki worked 3.0 innings in relief for the win, allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts and no walks. In 12.0 innings against USF, Suzuki has allowed 11 hits to a .234 average with nine strikeouts and two walks ... in one relief appearance as a freshman in 2014, Jake Kounkel worked 2.1 innings, allowing an unearned run on one hit with three strikeouts and four walks, holding USF to a .125 average ... in two career starts, one as a sophomore and one as a junior in 2014 and 2015, Zach Rengel is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 11.0 innings, striking out nine while walking four, allowing six runs on 11 hits. Last year, Rengel went 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on six hits with six strikeouts and a walk in a no decision ...

SCOUTING SIOUX FALLS (by Patrick Rydeen)
After a strong start in the conference season, the Cougars have won just one of their last seven NSIC games heading into the weekend. Last weekend, Sioux Falls went winless in the first three games against Winona State before the two teams tied in the series finale. The Cougars followed that up with a mid-week split as they hit the road to Wayne State. USF currently sits in the eighth and final spot in the NSIC Tournament race with a record of 10-12-1 in league play.
 
Josh Rehwaldt has been a consistent presence so far this season for the Cougars as he leads all qualified starters on the team with a .411 average (62-151), 35 RBI and 15 doubles while also homering three times and scoring 36 runs. After finding playing time hard to come by early in the year, Anthony Lopez has turned himself into an essential part of the lineup with 29 hits in 61 at-bats (.475 average) as he has driven in 14 and scored 10 runs.
 
As a team, the Cougars have hit a solid .340, fourth-best in the NSIC, as all of their regulars are hitting .287 or above. Sioux Falls has received a bit of power from throughout the entire lineup as they have homered 30 times as a team with no individual having more than four. USF ranks near the top of the league in most offensive categories as they rank fourth in runs (318), hits (451), doubles (84) and on-base percentage (.414) while ranking tied for second in steals (53).
 
On the mound, Dylan Gavin has been the undisputed ace of the staff as he leads the league with eight wins and ranks sixth with a 3.48 ERA. Gavin has held opponents to a .256 average, eighth-best in the league, while allowing a lone home run. Zachary Miller has been another mainstay in the USF rotation as his 50.2 innings pitched are fifth-most in the conference and his 6.22 ERA is second-best on the team.
 
Last weekend, Patrick Anderson (2-3 with a 7.08 ERA) got the game one start followed by Zachary Miller in game two as the pair appears to be lined up to start in the doubleheader on Saturday. The duo of Dan Johnson (1-5 with a 9.32 ERA) and Chris Thompson (1-1 with an 8.16 ERA) started last Sunday and will likely be called on again this Sunday in games three and game four.

GOLDEN BEAR INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Sophomore C/DH Connor Olson is having a strong sophomore year, ranking seventh in the league in slugging (.725), 12th in doubles (13) and sixth in home runs (11) ... in conference-only play, Olson ranks 11th NSIC in slugging (.761), third in homers (11) and 10th in total bases (67) ... junior LHP Josh Lenz leads the NSIC in conference play with six wins (6-1) while pitching in eight contests, and ranks eighth in the league with a .250 opponent batting average, 13th with a 3.86 ERA, 17th in innings (28.0), 18th in strikeouts (24), 10th in fewest hits (28) and walks (7) allowed, eighth in doubles (4) ... in overall play on the year, Lenz ranks seventh in the NSIC in ERA (3.82), sixth in opponent batting average (.250), has allowed second fewest hits (32), 10th fewest walks (10), fourth fewest doubles (5) and seventh fewest home runs (3) and he's one of 15 NSIC pitchers to save at least two games this year ... sophomore OF/DH Tanner Holmquist has hit six home runs in NSIC play, ranking 13th in the league and his eight overall home runs rank 10th in the NSIC ... senior RH relief pitchers Yuji Suzuki and Tyler Schmitz have each saved two NSIC contests, tied for third in the league while Suzuki's four overall saves rank foruth in the NSIC ... junior LHP Kevin Woebke has picked off five runners in league play, ranking second in the league and ranks 13th in fewest hits allowed (30), eighth in doubles (4) ... on the year (all games), Woebke is 17th in the NSIC in opponent average (.299) and his six pickoffs rank second in the league.

RECORD PACE START TO 2016
Concordia won its first five games of the year and rebounded from back-to-back losses by winning seven in a row for a 12-2 start. Another four game winning streak followed the loss that snapped the seven game winning streak, giving the team three winning streaks of four-plus games on the year.

The first half of the season's winning streaks culminated in a program record-setting start with a 16-3 record through 19 overall games and a 9-1 record through 10 NSIC games.

NCAA CENTRAL REGION RANKINGS RELEASED (4/27)
The first NCAA Central Region Baseball Rankings were released this Wednesday with four Northern Sun teams making the top-10, and more importantly all four league members made the top-8. The distinction is important as the 2016 NCAA Central Region Tournament has been expanded to included eight teams in 2016, with the first three invitations earned through the NSIC, MIAA and GAC Tournament Champion winner with five at-large selections based on the top five remaining teams in the regional criteria following the conference tournaments. Concordia holds a 4-10 record against regionally-ranked teams, splitting a doubleheader at #1 St. Cloud State, splitting a four game non-conference series at #6 Augustana, falling twice at home but splitting at #8 Minnesota State and being swept in four games at #3 Minnesota Duluth.
 

CENTRAL	TEAM (Conf)	DII W-L	IN-REG W-L
1	St. Cloud St. (NSIC)	23-4	19-4
2	Mo. Western St. (MIAA)	31-12	31-12
3	Minn. Duluth (NSIC)	27-9	23-8
4	Ark.-Monticello (GAC)	29-11	29-11
5	Washburn (MIAA)	29-13	29-13
6	Augustana (SD) (NSIC)	28-10	28-10
7	Southwestern Okla. (GAC)	26-12	26-12
8	Minnesota St. (NSIC)	20-12	16-8
9	Central Mo. (MIAA)	27-12	27-12
10	Emporia St. (MIAA)	29-14	29-14

NCBWA POLL: GOLDEN BEARS RECEIVE VOTES, BUT FALL FROM TOP-10
After being ranked sixth or seventh for six consecutive weeks in the NCBWA Central Region Top-10 poll, the Golden Bears fell out of last week's (Apr 19) ranking but were still the top unranked team receiving votes with four points among the eight voters. In the April 26 poll, the Golden Bears did not receive consideration for the first time since March 1.

Concordia does not have any games against NCBWA regionally ranked teams left, and holds a 3-7 record against teams in the poll.

The poll is comprised of baseball sports information directors in the Central Region which is made up of the Northern Sun (NSIC), Mid-American (MIAA) and Great American (GAC) conferences ... the poll is a collection of committee member votes with no formal criteria, and the poll does not influence the official NCAA Central Region Rankings which are released later in the season with a data-driven criteria that selects and seeds the NCAA Central Region Tournament competitors following the conference tournament automatic qualifiers from the three leagues.

RK	School -First-Place Votes-	W-L	Pts.	Previous
1	St. Cloud St. (Minn.) -5-	30-4	58	1
2	Arkansas-Monticello	30-11	46	5
3	Augustana (S.D.) -1-	28-10	44	T6
4	Missouri Western	31-12	40	3
5	Central Missouri	27-12	35	2
6	Minnesota-Duluth	27-9	33	8
7	Washburn	29-13	29	9
8	Emporia State (Kan.)	29-14	22	4
9	Missouri Southern	28-15	10	T6
10	SW Oklahoma State	29-13	8	10

Also receiving votes: Minnesota State (21-12) 5 votes; Minnesota-Crookston (22-13) 3 votes.

A look at Concordia's weekly rankings in the NCBWA Central Region Poll:
Date, W-L, Rk, Pts
Pre, 0-0, NR
2/16, 0-0, NR
2/23, 0-0, NR
3/1, 0-0, NR
3/8, 5-0, 7th, 22
3/15, 7-2, 7th, 24
3/22, 7-2, t-7th, 21
3/29, 11-2, 6th, 23
4/5, 12-3, 7th, 26
4/12, 15-3, 6th, 31
4/19, 16-8, RV, 4
4/26, 18-10, NR

WEATHER IMPACTING 2016 SEASON
The headline is not exactly breaking news for baseball teams playing in the Upper Midwest, but the Golden Bears have now had eight games cancelled due to weather which consists of over 30 percent of the current 26 scheduled games. The team had a three game non-conference road trip to Upper Iowa wiped out, the second game of a home NSIC doubleheader against Wayne State and most recently a four game weekend NSIC road series at Minnesota Crookston. So far, the team has missed out on three non-conference and five conference games.

STARTING PITCHING PROJECTED MATCHUPS
please note: Each team's projected pitching matchups are based on early season usage, as the teams do not announce starting pitching matchups before a series

GAME 1, SATURDAY, 1:00 PM - 7 innings
Team	Pitcher	Yr.	R/L	W-L	Sv	ERA	WHIP	App-GS	IP	K/9	BB/9	Oav
CSP	Zach Rengel	Jr.	L	2-3	0	7.98	1.71	6-6	29.1	9.2	3.7	.304
USF	Patrick Anderson	Sr.	R	2-3	0	7.08	2.13	8-6	34.1	5.0	3.7	.383
GAME 2, SATURDAY, 3:00 - 9 innings
Team	Pitcher	Yr.	R/L	W-L	Sv	ERA	WHIP	App-GS	IP	K/9	BB/9	Oav
CSP	Kevin Woebke	Jr.	L	1-2	1	5.91	1.66	7-6	35.0	6.9	4.4	.299
USF	Zachary Miller	Jr.	L	2-5	0	6.22	1.80	10-9	50.2	6.6	2.8	.366

 

GAME 1, SUNDAY, 12:00 PM - 7 innings
Team	Pitcher	Yr.	R/L	W-L	Sv	ERA	WHIP	App-GS	IP	K/9	BB/9	Oav
CSP	Kody Knaus	Sr.	L	4-1	0	5.73	1.64	6-6	33.0	7.1	2.7	.331
USF	Dan Johnson	Fr.	R	1-5	0	9.32	2.04	8-8	28.0	5.5	5.5	.351
GAME 2, SUNDAY, 2:00 - 9 innings
Team	Pitcher	Yr.	R/L	W-L	Sv	ERA	WHIP	App-GS	IP	K/9	BB/9	Oav
CSP	Gus Varland	Fr.	R	1-3	0	6.44	1.76	6-6	36.1	6.7	2.5	.355
USF	Chris Thompson	Jr.	R	1-1	2	8.16	1.88	14-1	14.1	7.5	10.0	.220