ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team is set for a busy week next week as they open the season with a doubleheader against Minot State on US Bank Stadium before heading south to Arizona for the Tucson Invitational Games from Wednesday to Sunday.
 
US BANK STADIUM INFORMATION
For the second season in a row, the Golden Bears will open up their season at the home of the Minnesota Vikings as they take on Minot State on Monday, March 5 at 11 a.m. at US Bank Stadium. The doubleheader represents the team's lone contests at the site of Super Bowl LII as CSP will play their final eight non-conference games down in Arizona. Tickets can be purchased at the Lower Pentair Gate for $5 while children ages two and under are free. Live stats will be available for both games and webcast will also be also be available, pending any facility-related difficulties.
 
MINOT STATE SERIES HISTORY
Concordia enters Monday's doubleheader with the Beavers with a record of 5-4 in nine previous meetings between the two schools. Over half of those meetings came just last season as CSP and MiSU met on March 9 for a single game at US Bank Stadium before playing a weekend series just over two weeks later. Minot State got the best of the Golden Bears as they won each of the first four meetings before Concordia claimed a 3-2 win in the final contest to avoid the season sweep.
 
TUCSON INVITATIONAL GAMES OVERVIEW
It will be a quick turnaround for the Golden Bears as they catch a flight to Arizona on Tuesday and open play in the Tucson Invitational Games on Wednesday against a pair of NSIC foes. CSP will face Southwest Minnesota State at 4 p.m. and St. Cloud State at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Kino Sports Stadium to begin the trip. Concordia will turn around and play two more on Thursday, one against Dakota Wesleyan and one against Valley City State, at the Kino Sports Complex. The Golden Bears return to Kino Sports Stadium on Friday for one game against Mount Marty at 4 p.m. CSP will then make it six of their first nine against conference opponents on Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled for 1:30 p.m. against Northern State. The final game on the trip will be a single contest against Dickinson State at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday before returning home to kick off NSIC action. Follow along to the action on live stats throughout the trip. All game times are listed in central time.
 
With such a large number of games in a short amount of time, head coach Mark "Lunch" McKenzie hopes to have a better picture of his team heading into conference play. On what he would like to see on the trip, he said, "We think we've got a lineup in pen, but there are a lot of battles going on for the depth behind the lineup. We're going to give some guys some chances in Arizona to show us what they can do." When discussing the progression towards playing regular season games, he added, "Considering the weather, we're getting a lot of good work in at practice. We've been trying to keep the kids focused on getting their work in for the first few weeks, and are now shifting towards getting locked in and competing in our last few dress rehearsals before the real thing."
 
2017 SEASON REVIEW
Following an impressive run of four consecutive seasons of finishing sixth or better and finishing at least four games or more above .500 in NSIC play from 2013-16, the Golden Bears finished the 2017 season seventh in the league. While the team made it five years in a row earning a spot in the NSIC Tournament, the results fell short of expectations after playing in the NSIC Championship game in 2016.
 
The Golden Bears are looking to use the season as learning experience heading into this season as they look to push themselves into the upper tier of teams in the league. McKenzie pointed out, "I think a lot of people in the conference, including ourselves, put a lot into us reaching the championship in 2016, but we lost some really good players and some strong character individuals heading into last year. We competed and made it to the conference tournament, but it wasn't a successful year from anybody's standpoint. With getting that year under their belt, the guys are a year older and more experienced which has brought a different feel to the ballpark this year. They are doing a good job of shutting their mouth and leading by example."
 
EARLY SEASON PROGRESS
The early returns have been positive for the squad as another year of experience, along with the additions of several veteran transfers, have allowed the team to focus more on the team's approach. "A message that we keep pushing is 'play for each other'. It's not just about stepping up to the plate trying to get a hit, it's putting together an approach to help the team win a game. They are doing the physical work. The hitters are in the pole barn hitting and the pitchers are coming in and doing their arm care every day which has allowed us to build on the mental side of things as well," said McKenzie. He added, "We've spent lot of time focusing on grinding out at-bats and teaching both the hitters and pitchers to compete without worrying about little things they can't control. We feel like we've eliminated a lot of the drama."
 
McKenzie pointed both to growth of returners and impact of newcomers in the budding team chemistry so far this year. He highlighted that dynamic by saying, "Some of the new guys we have brought in have added some maturity and have helped give us a really nice mix of young and old on the roster." While the addition of veteran leadership has been a plus, so has the young players' willingness to learn. "These kids listen to what the coaching staff is telling them. They are very respectful and want to get better," McKenzie said about the group.
 
NSIC AT A GLANCE
Heading into the 2018 season, the Northern Sun looks as competitive as ever with quality teams across the board. Perennial powers Minnesota State, Augustana and St. Cloud State are once again picked to finish in the top three in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll while teams such as Wayne State, Concordia, Minnesota Duluth, Northern State and Minot State are all knocking on the door to join that group at the top. The teams near the bottom of the league have also continued to make progress, creating unpredictable results throughout the season. While the Golden Bears were picked to finish fifth, just nine points separated the teams picked between fourth and sixth, and 31 points separated teams picked from fourth to eighth.
 
When asked about the league, McKenzie said, "The NSIC schedule is a grind. Anybody can beat anybody in this league so you can't take anybody for granted. Everybody has a guy on the mound and everybody has some hitters. If you don't come to play, somebody is going to get you, forcing you to have to go out and steal a game from someone else." He continued by saying, "Every game is a playoff game. When it comes down to the end of the year, it's the difference of one or two games every year. Instead of needing those last few games to go your way, we want to win the early games to avoid that."
 
MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS
The Concordia Golden Bear lineup and pitching staff enter the season in very different positions as the lineup returns lots of familiar face from last season and the rotation projects to feature quite a few newcomers in the mix. While the composition of each may be different, one theme across the board is the same: competition. With one of the deepest rosters in program history, CSP looks to be multiple players deep at each position with many players vying for playing time.
 
Perhaps one of the most experienced position groups is at catcher as Concordia returns a pair of All-NSIC performers behind the plate. Connor Olson, a 2016 All-NSIC First Team selection, projects to receive the bulk of time behind the dish after being relegated to designated hitter last season due to injury. The senior has been a regular in the lineup over his three years on campus, compiling a career .335 average with 20 home runs and 41 doubles.
 
CSP's backup plan behind the plate isn't too bad either as junior Carter Schmidt returns after an All-NSIC Second Team season at catcher last year. He was an ironman in 2017 as he started all 49 games, including 48 at catcher, while hitting .343 and reaching base at a .413 clip on the season.
 
Behind that duo, Tom Austin and Jeffrey Kressler are in the mix to see time at catcher this season.
 
Over at first, it will be a pair of juniors battling it out for the starting role in Roch Whittaker and Ben Suits. After being a part-time player as a freshman, Whittaker broke out last season while splitting time between third base and first base. In 44 games, Whittaker collected 35 hits and 14 RBIs while drawing 22 walks for a .289 average and .412 on-base percentage. Suits, on the other hand, made 34 appearances and hit .280 as a sophomore after hitting six home runs with a .300 average in his freshman campaign.
 
As is the case in much of the lineup, the Golden Bears will be relying on a solid group of returners in the middle infield. Leading candidates to start at second base and shortstop heading into the year are Mickey Leius and Patrick Bordewick, respectively. Both players stepped into significant roles in their first year with the program last year as Bordewick started 48 games and Leius played in 38. Bordewick gave the club a steady defensive presence at short as a freshman while driving in 21 runs and hitting .242 while Leius hit .274 after transferring in from Des Moines Area Community College.
 
Also battling for playing time up the middle are Adam Hildebrandt and Kyle Horstmann while Isaac Hormann could also see time there as well.
 
At the hot corner, North Dakota transfer Drew Sannes will likely receive the first crack there in his first year at CSP. As a solid glove at third, Sannes appeared in seven games for the Fighting Hawks in 2016 before the school cut the program. Hormann and Leius could also slide over and man the position while Chad Clute and Jack Becker are also in contention.
 
Gunnar McCarthy, Cody Marek and Ryan Bastyr round out the infield mix. Speaking of the infielders, McKenzie said, "We feel good about the defensive situation because we have some moving parts with guys that can play multiple positions depending on what we need."
 
McKenzie projects the outfield to be potentially the most hotly contested area on the field with no less than nine guys fighting for three spots. He said, "The outfield is really competitive. Holmquist, Schmidt, Hormann, Elder, Trygstad, Nessler, Kirchoff, Steckler and some other young guys can all play there. We're probably going to find out more about those spots in Arizona than any other position."
 
That group includes five mainstays from last year's squad as Tanner Holmquist, Zach Elder and Steven Nessler all started the majority of games in the outfield while Schmidt was the everyday catcher and Hormann split time between second base and the outfield. With Schmidt and Hormann shifting more to the outfield this season, the level of competition is only increased.
 
While Schmidt was an All-NSIC Second Team pick behind the plate, Hormann earned All-Region honors as a utility man in addition to being named All-NSIC First Team and Gold Glove at second base. The Young America native paced the squad with a .364 average while slugging 11 doubles, scoring 33 times and driving in 25. In two years on campus, Hormann has compiled a .349 career average in 78 total games.
 
Along with Schmidt and Hormann, Tanner Holmquist figures to see regular playing time after connecting for nine homers, 12 doubles and 55 RBIs while hitting .288 in two years in navy and gold.
 
Elder and Nessler provide two more experienced options as crushed a team-best 10 home runs while slugging .462 and Nessler hit a solid .328 on the year. Connor Trygstad, Jake Steckler and Cole Kirchoff have all seen time out there over the past few years and will factor in again this year while Ryan Christopher also joins the group. Those not in the starting outfield will also compete for at-bats at designated hitter as well.
 
While there is experience nearly everywhere in the lineup, two of the team's top three starters from last season, along with several key bullpen pieces, have graduated.
 
It won't be all new faces, however, as junior Gus Varland returns as ace of the staff. Varland followed up a 2017 season in which he went 7-3 with a 3.27 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 63.1 innings pitched with an even better summer in the Northwoods League. The North St. Paul native was named to both the midseason and postseason All-Star teams while pitching for the Willmar Stingers and will look to build on that in his third year at Concordia.
 
Gus will be backed up with a pair of teammates from his high school team as transfer Zach Lauzon and sophomore Louie Varland also look to lock down starting roles. Lauzon joins CSP after spending his first two collegiate years at Indian Hills Community College while Louie Varland, the younger brother of Gus, got his feet wet in a relief role as a freshman.
 
Another transfer looks likely to earn a role as a starter as junior Josh Gaworski steps into the program after going a perfect 8-0 with 92 strikeouts in 59.2 innings while helping Century to the NJCAA World Series last year. Keanu Mendez and Connor Hurley will also fight for starting roles after Mendez made nine starts last year and Hurley made seven. Nate Stolte is in the mix as well after leading the GLIAC in ERA for Wisconsin-Parkside in 2017.
 
The pitching staff looks to be as deep as ever as Riley Sweeney, Shane Benson and Ray Wellner will all look to improve in year two for CSP while the freshman group of Michael Voss, Ryan Christopher and Ross Bastyr will all be pushing for action as well. That group will likely be jockeying for roles during the trip to Arizona as they look to solidify their positions heading into NSIC play.
 
The list doesn't stop there as Blake Stelzer, Nick Lilienthal and Bram Minser give Concordia three more veteran options in addition to freshmen Luke DeGrammont, Austin Braund, Dallas McBroom and TJ Johnson.
 
Check back to cspbears.com/baseball throughout the season for game previews, game recaps, schedule changes and more.