ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team opens the 2022 season this weekend at Newman (6-2). The series has been pushed back two days with doubleheaders on Sunday and Monday.
 
SERIES INFORMATION
The Golden Bears and the Jets will compete in a four-game series at McCarthy Field in Wichita, Kan., located on the campus of Newman University. The two schools will be meeting for the first time in series history this weekend.
 
The series, originally scheduled for Friday-Sunday, was moved back two days due to snowfall and cold temperatures in the area.
 
Newman, a member of the MIAA, has gotten off to a strong start this season, winning six of their first eight games of the year. They took the final three games of a four-game set at Southern Nazarene rolling to a 17-5 win over Northwest Oklahoma State. Last weekend at East Central, NU took two of three to move four games above .500.
 
Live stats and live video (pay-per-view) are available for all four games this weekend.
 
WATCH ONLINE - NSIC NETWORK
Powered by the NSIC Network, all Northern Sun home and away baseball games will be broadcast online, free of charge, weather permitting. Visit www.nsicnetwork.com/cspbears to watch the Golden Bears. Away games will feature production by the host institution, while home games are broadcast using BlueFrame Technology with the play-by-play call of Dan Flanagan, voice of the Golden Bears for over a decade. Flanagan is a St. Paul native who professionally trained in broadcasting at Fordham University in New York where he was the voice of the basketball and football teams, among other sports. NSIC Network Announcement & FAQ
 
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.
 
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Not able to watch or keep an eye on live stats? Check in on social media by following our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds. Each platform will have different levels of engagement. Twitter will offer scoring updates, Instagram will feature live look-ins and engaging content and Facebook is a great place to get links to previews, recaps and more. Simply search for CSP Bears on any of the platforms and remember to #BeGolden!
 
PRACTICE UPDATE
With a month of practice under their belt since returning from winter break, the Golden Bears are ready to get their first look at outside competition this weekend. "The energy has been really good," said head coach Neil Lerner. He added, "Our guys realize that last season was not the type of season we would like to have, so they are motivated, energized and have worked really hard. It's nice to get live at-bats in our indoor hitting facility to get the feel and energy of the real thing."
 
While the 2021 season may not have gone the way that was hoped, it did provide a young squad some vital experience against quality NSIC opponents. Lerner said, "Guys remember that feeling [from last year]. That feeling has stuck with them and has motivated them to improve their game. A lot of guys saw their first collegiate action last season and we hope they can build on that this season."
 
Having veteran leadership and experience has played a major role in the positive environment so far this spring. Lerner pointed out, "It feels like guys like Luke DeGrammont, Michael Voss and Ryan Christopher have been on this team forever. They are such good leaders and role models and they set a great example for us. For these guys, and a few of our other veteran players, they know what the grind is like and can give advice and really mentor our younger players."
 
Another factor in the culture so far this season has been the depth and level of competition at every position. "We are fortunate to have a lot of competition at almost every spot. One of the challenges we have as a coaching staff is that we have 38 guys on the roster and we can only play nine or 10 of them at a time," said Lerner.
 
NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The Golden Bears will have an opportunity to put that depth to the test early in the season as they follow the season-opening series against the Jets with a trip to the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational from March 5-11. CSP is scheduled for seven games in the Sunshine State before returning home to take on Minnesota Duluth in a non-conference doubleheader at Minnetonka High School on March 16.
 
The Golden Bears will be making their first spring trip to Florida in over a decade as they return to the Orlando area for the first time since the 2011 season.
 
Concordia's 13-game non-conference schedule features a quality list of top-level Division II opponents as CSP looks to prepare for NSIC play. When speaking about the schedule, Lerner said, "We're going to get to see some really good teams. We want to win every game, but at the same time, we want to get guys at-bats and innings so they can help us compete when we get into our conference season. We purposely set up a really challenging schedule so we can get that experience right from the start."
 
NSIC AT A GLANCE
The schedule doesn't lighten up at all from there as conference play kicks off at home with a three-game series on March 19-20 against Bemidji State.
 
In the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, CSP was picked to finish 11th. The Golden Bears earned 69 points in the poll, putting the team just four points behind Sioux Falls in 10th and 20 points behind Northern State in ninth. CSP also sits eight points ahead of Upper Iowa and 11 points ahead of Minnesota Duluth in 13th.
 
The reigning NSIC Regular Season and Tournament Champions of Minnesota State were the top pick in the poll as the Mavericks amassed 190 points after receiving nine first place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team). Augustana was second with 188 points and the other six first place votes. St. Cloud State was picked third with 162 points, Minot State was fourth with 159 points and Minnesota Crookston was fifth with 130 points.  
 
"The NSIC is a really good conference," said Lerner. "Every game is a challenge with any team capable of winning on any day. Top to bottom, no games feel like a given, and we wouldn't want it any other way."
 
The 2022 NSIC Baseball Tournament will take the top eight teams in the final NSIC Standings. The eight-team double elimination NSIC Tournament takes place May 11-14 co-hosted by Augustana and Sioux Falls. The tournament will be played at Karras Park (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and Aspen Park (Brandon, S.D.). 
 
MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS: PITCHERS
On the mound, the Golden Bears will rely on an exciting mix of experienced veterans and talented young arms with a pitching staff consists of five seniors, eight sophomores and six freshmen.
 
On the pitching staff, Lerner said, "We feel really good about our depth in the pitching staff this year. We brought in a really strong freshman class along with a pair of transfers to supplement a staff in which the majority of the pitchers who pitched big innings are back this year. We feel like we have 14-16 guys that we can put out there and feel really good that they will give us a chance to compete."
 
Seniors Luke DeGrammont and Joey Atkinson as well as sophomore Jonah Lewis are expected to compete for roles the starting rotation while the freshman trio Korey Dahlberg, Gavin Rusch and Reece Piontek are also expected to be in the mix. Redshirt freshman Christian Morel could also factor into a starting spot as the season goes on.
 
DeGrammont, the team's number one starter a season ago, made a team-high nine starts last season. The left-hander allowed three earned runs or less in six of nine starts while striking out 29 in 41.1 innings of work.
 
Atkinson ranked fifth on the 2021 squad with 22.2 innings pitched as he worked in seven games, making four starts. The right-hander tallied a 1-0 record with a 4.76 ERA as he allowed 23 hits and struck out 18 on the season.
 
Lewis worked out of the bullpen last season as he tallied 10 strikeouts in his 7.1 innings of work.
 
Out of the bullpen, Michael Voss, Eric Lundell, Wyatt Rudolf, Logan Shaffer, Ryan Fering and Matt Sherman all return to the fold while Alec Holcomb, Carter Schulte, Gavin Lund, Michael Sturek, Mason Nadolney and David Salz will all look to make their debuts in navy and gold in 2022.
 
In his fifth season on campus, Voss provides the Golden Bears another veteran leader as he worked 33.2 innings over eight starts, picking up 22 strikeouts last season.
 
Lundell was one of the team's top performers out of the pen in 2021 as he led the team with four wins, allowing just 22 hits and striking out 26 in 24.2 innings over 13 appearances.
 
MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS: CATCHERS
CSP's catcher unit projects to be one of the strongest units on the roster as returning starters Chandler Ibach and Justin McGuigan are joined by freshman Jack Greenlun.
 
"Catcher is a really strong group for us. We love the group of three guys that we have back there and feel like we have three very solid Division II catchers on the roster," said Lerner of his men behind the plate.
 
Ibach and McGuigan split the games nearly equally in 2021 as McGuigan made 20 starts and Ibach made 17. Ibach finished the season strong with three consecutive multi-extra-base hit games, homering four times during that span. McGuigan picked up 12 hits while drawing eight walks and picking up three steals on three attempts. The duo was especially impressive in the shortened 2020 campaign as Ibach slashed .381/.435/.524 and McGuigan hit .333 with a .417 on-base percentage.
 
MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS: INFIELD
While the other three position groups all feature significant experience, only Jarod Wandersee and Shea Pekarek have made more than a dozen starts in their careers among Golden Bear infielders.
 
Talking about the infield group, Lerner pointed out, "Outside of Jared and Shea, our infield group is an inexperienced group, but they are hungry and work really hard to push each other to get better every day."
 
Wandersee represents the team's lone everyday returner on the infield dirt as he earned D2CCA All-Central Region Second Team Utility after splitting 38 starts between second and third base. Expected to lock down the third base position, Wandersee is coming off a season in which he ranked 18^th in the NSIC with a .441 on-base percentage and 20^th with a .581 slugging percentage while hitting .333 with seven homers.
 
At shortstop, a pair of sophomores in Jaden Werner and Century transfer Carter Shook are expected to battle it out for the starting spot early in the year. Werner got his first taste of Division II action last season while Shook was a regular for the Wood Ducks.
 
Across the diamond at second base, two more sophomores in Bryce Nelson and Brayden Roybal will each get a shot to grab the starting spot as both got their feet wet for the Golden Bears last season.
 
Rounding out the group at first base, Pekarek, along with Mitch Klass, Mason Nadolney and Lamine Diaby-Gassama will all compete for at-bats at the position. Pekarek has appeared in 53 games in three previous seasons, seeing action in the outfield as well as first base, while Klass has made 19 appearances over two years. Nadolney put up a big power season at NIACC last season while Diaby-Gassama made his first two appearances off the bench with CSP last season.
 
MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS: OUTFIELD
Concordia's outfield group represents another deep and talented group on the roster. Matt Pietsch and Nick Thimsen are once again expected to man the corner outfield spots for the Golden Bears while Jack Young and Mason Wolf will compete for playing time in center field. Senior JT Hofmann, sophomore Cody Maier and freshman Kal Brohmer are also in the outfield mix while senior Ryan Christopher could return and play a key role in the second half of the season.
 
"We really like our outfield group. We have a lot of competition for spots and feel like we have flexibility to turn to different guys as needed," said Lerner of his outfielders.
 
Thimsen, a 2021 All-NSIC Second Team pick, is expected to fill a slot near the top of the lineup after finishing sixth in the NSIC with a .652 slugging percentage and 16^th with a .348 batting average to go along with a team-leading eight long balls and 30 runs scored.
 
Pietsch is coming off two straight solid seasons for the Golden Bears, slashing .364/.396/.432 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season before finishing at .321/.350/.463 with 13 extra-base hits in 2021.
 
Christopher, who is recovering from injury, has been a mainstay in the Concordia lineup over the past four seasons as he has collected 108 hits with a career .311 batting average in 113 games.