ST. PAUL, Minn. – Concordia-St. Paul head baseball coach Mark "Lunch" McKenzie has announced a schedule change for the team's mid-week doubleheader with Minot State as the Golden Bears are now scheduled to face the Beavers on Thursday in Bellevue, Nebraska. First pitch in game one is set for 10 a.m.
SCHEDULE INFORMATION
For the second series in a row to start the NSIC season, the Golden Bears are headed south to a neutral site for conference action. CSP and Minot will meet at Bellevue West High School in Nebraska, just south of Omaha. Live stats will be available for those who are unable to attend.
NCBWA POLL
For the second week in a row, the Golden Bears sit in 10th in the NCBWA Central Region Poll. CSP garnered 13 points in the poll, one shy of Missouri Western in ninth. Concordia is joined by St. Cloud State (first), Augustana (fifth) and Minnesota State (seventh) in the poll as the NSIC holds four of the 10 spots.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, Concordia bounced back from a loss in the conference opener in Joplin, Mo. to win the series by taking the final two games of the weekend.
CSP finished the weekend with a .323 team batting average (31-96) while collecting four doubles and three home runs and scoring 15 runs. The Golden Bears pitching staff put up a 3.12 ERA in the series with 30 strikeouts in 26.0 innings while holding opponents to a .253 average.
Isaac Hormann homered on both Friday and Saturday to aid a .455/.500/1.091 slash line in 13 plate appearances over the three games.
Keanu Mendez improved to 2-1 on the season by working 7.0 innings of one-run ball in a 7-1 win as he struck out nine and allowed just six hits in the game.
MINOT SERIES HISTORY
Concordia and Minot State enter the series with just 13 previous meetings with the Golden Bears holding a slight edge at 7-6. All 13 meetings have come since the Beavers joined the NSIC in the 2012-13 academic year with the two teams splitting the six previous league games. Nine of the previous 13 meetings have come at a neutral site with CSP going 4-5 in those contests.
LAST MEETING WITH THE BEAVERS
In the second game of the day back on March 9th in Tucson, Minot State jumped ahead early against CSP and continued to pile on as they finished the game with 11 runs on 17 hits to enact the run rule in an 11-1 final in seven innings.
Patrick Bordewick provided a bright spot at the plate for the Golden Bears as he went 2-2 with a double and a run scored while
Cole Kirchoff drove in the team's lone run with an RBI double of his own.
Michael Borst, Ryley Humrighouse and Geordie McDougall each contributed three hits for the Beavers as the trio combined for five runs scored and four RBIs.
Keanu Mendez took the loss for CSP as he worked the first 4.0 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) and picking up a strikeout.
Nate Stolte and
Ray Wellner each got an inning out of the bullpen as well.
RJ Martinez finished off a complete game five-hitter as he held the Golden Bears to one run while striking out five in 7.0 innings.
