ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia Golden Bears baseball team (6-6) opens up NSIC play this weekend as they take on Southwest Minnesota State (5-5) at Veterans Field in Minnetonka on Saturday and Sunday. Both doubleheaders are set to begin at 10 a.m. each day.

Live stats will be available for both games and live video will be available on Sunday.

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears wrapped up the non-conference season with a 1-3 week at US Bank Stadium. CSP dropped a game to Minot State and picked up a win over Wayne State on Thursday before being swept by Concordia-Moorhead on Saturday.
 
After averaging 7.1 runs and 10.8 hits per game with team batting average of .328 in Arizona, the Golden Bears were limited to just 1.5 runs and 3.8 hits and a .143 average in their four games this week. While the offense was quiet, Concordia's pitching staff registered a solid 3.19 ERA and .265 opponent batting average while striking out 36 in 31.0 innings of work.
 
Highlighting the strong week on the mound was freshman Connor Hurley. Hurley made his first career start against Wayne State and picked up his first career win. In his 5.0 innings of work, the South Dakota native retired the first 11 batters he faced before allowing just one run on two hits with eight strikeouts on the day.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Concordia enters the weekend with a 27-19 edge in the all-time series through the first 46 meetings between the two schools. The Golden Bears have shifted the momentum in their favor over the past two seasons as they have won the last six meetings in a row, matching their longest winning streak in the series against the Mustangs. SMSU's last wins against CSP came in a four-game sweep of the season series in 2015.
 
LAST MEETING
Less than two weeks ago in the Tucson Invitational, the Golden Bears ended their trip on a high note with a doubleheader sweep of Southwest Minnesota State.
 
It was an impressive day at the dish as the Golden Bears picked up 27 hits as a team to slash .429/.457/.635 in the doubleheader. All nine starters reached base at least twice on the day, including six that reached base at least three times.
 
Isaac Hormann led the way offensively as he collected two three-hit games gives him four multi-hit games in a row to conclude the trip. Hormann has reached base safely 14 times in that four game stretch, going 11-16 (.687) during that span.
 
The pitching was nearly as impressive as Concordia's two starters combined to throw all 14 innings, allowing just a .212 opponent batting average with a 3.21 ERA. Gus Varland picked up the complete game win in the first game while Kevin Woebke added one of his own in the second.
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
After dropping four of their first five games to start the season, the Mustangs have won four of their last five to even their record at 5-5 during their 10-game trip to Arizona. Four of their five losses on the season have come against NSIC foes as they dropped back-to-back doubleheaders to CSP and St. Cloud State.
 
SMSU enters the weekend with a team batting average of.286 while their opponents have hit .335 against them. Tanner Strommen's .394 average leads the way while Jon Leighton has a team-best three home runs. Justin Clark enters in with a 1.93 ERA in two starts as he has struck out 11 in 9.1 innings pitched.
 
NSIC RANKINGS
In the early going, the Golden Bears have several players ranking at or near the top of the league in different statistical categories.
 
At the plate, Isaac Hormann is tied for the conference lead in hits with 16 while he also sits in a tie for third with five doubles. Zach Elder also sits at the top of the pack in home runs with four while Steven Nessler's team-leading .440 batting average is ninth-best in the NSIC.
 
CSP is also well-represented on the pitching side of things with a few pitchers putting up impressive number. Gus Varland has been a workhorse early on with a league-best 18.0 innings pitched while his 21 strikeouts are also tied for the lead in the NSIC and his 2.00 ERA ranks 12^th. Josh Lenz sits in the top-10 in ERA at eighth with a mark of 1.38 while his two saves are tied for first and his 13.0 innings rank 11^th.