ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul baseball team opens the 2023 season next Saturday-Monday to take on the Washburn University Ichabods in a four-game series at Falley Field in Topeka, Kan.

Due to a combination of February weather and field conditions, the Golden Bears' season opener will be pushed back to Saturday, February 18th at 1:00 p.m. The following day will consist of a doubleheader beginning at noon, with the first game being a full nine innings and the second seven innings. The series will conclude on Monday with a single game at noon. 

SERIES INFORMATION
The Golden Bears and the Ichabods will faceoff for the first time in school history. Washburn is coming off a 33-22 (19-14 MIAA) season with a two-and-out showing at the NCAA Central Regional.

Washburn, a member of the MIAA, has gotten off to a slower-than-expected start this season, losing three of their four games this season by a single run. In their last contest, they dropped a closely contested game to #2 Southern Arkansas, 2-3, at the Dugan Invitational in Hot Springs Ark. Before they clash with the Golden Bears, the Icabods will travel to Florida for five games before hosting Minot State.

 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

PRESEASON
With preseason practice coming to an end, the Golden Bears are making their final adjustments before the opening weekend of the 2023 campaign next Friday. "It's been a good offseason. Guys have been working hard and we had a really good Fall," stated Neil Lerner, who enters his fourth season as the CSP baseball's head coach.

He added, "We have a bunch of new guys and they have acclimated well; they fit in well with the rest of the group. Our guys are inclusive, hard-working guys and the first four weeks of practice have been good."

With the help of first-year assistants Derek Dahlke, Ryan Holmgren and Andrew Hanson, along with former head coach Mark "Lunch" McKenzie, Lerner and his staff emphasized player development in the offseason with a significant loss of depth from a season ago. Lerner stated, "It was a good offseason of being able to spend time working with our pitchers on velocity and working on skill development with our skill-positioned players."

He added, "We did lose quite a bit of our players from last year with a large number of at-bats, so we'll definitely see some new faces out there this year, and some younger guys will move into more expanded roles this year."

Veteran leadership will be vital in the Golden Bears' success this season. Fielders Nick Thimsen, Brayden Roybal, Kal Brohmer, Justin McGuigan, Mason Wolf and Jaden Werner along with senior pitchers Jonah Lewis, Matt Sherman and Eric Lundell have shined for the Golden Bears in the preseason. "Those are leaders and great players. Between McGuigan, Roybal and Thimsen, they have the most at-bats returning," Lerner added, "We also have some good senior leaders that ate up quite a bit of innings in the past. They have done a great job leading with the pitching staff this preseason."

NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The Golden Bears will start the season strong in the non-conference play with a four-game series against central regional opponent Washburn on the road. Lerner had high praise for the Ichabods stating, "We get the opportunity to go down and play a really good team to start the season in Washburn." He added, "It's a really good opportunity for us to see high-level baseball here early in the season."

CSP will then make a trip to Tucson, Ariz. for seven games at the Tucson Invitational before returning home to take on Minnesota Duluth in a non-conference doubleheader at U.S. Bank Stadium on March 15.

The 13-game non-conference schedule will pair Concordia against quality Division II teams as they prepare for the NSIC season opener on March 15 against Bemidji State. "We'll be able to get 13 really good games against high-quality opponents. It prepares us well for the conference season because every game in our conference is challenging," Lerner stated.

NSIC AT A GLANCE
The schedule doesn't lighten up at all from there, as conference play kicks off against Bemidji State with a three-game series on March 19-20 at Barnes Field.

Following the conference opener, the Golden Bears will face the Mary Marauders in a doubleheader at home on March 22nd before their first conference road test against Minnesota Crookston on March 25-26.

In the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, CSP was picked to finish 11th for the second straight season. The Golden Bears earned 66 points in the poll, putting the team 34 points behind Wayne State in 10th and 32 points behind Minnesota Crookston in ninth. CSP also sits 25 points ahead of Upper Iowa and 26 points ahead of Southwest Minnesota State in 14th.

The reigning NSIC Tournament Champions, Minnesota State, were the top pick in the 2023 NSIC Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll. The Mavericks amassed 188 points after receiving eight first-place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team). Augustana was second with 185 points and five first-place votes. St. Cloud State was picked third with 174 points and the final two first-place votes. The University of Mary and Minot State tied for fourth with 128 points.

"The NSIC is obviously one of if not the best Division II conference around," Lerner stated. "Being picked 11th says we have work to do, and I think if we do things right and they do what we ask them to do, we can finish in the top-8 and be one of those conference tournament teams."

The Golden Bears look to build on a 12th-place finish in the conference standings from a year ago after finishing 11-22 in league play. "We are trying to get off to a good start this season," Lerner stated. "Last year we got off to a really good start in conference play, hit a losing streak and had a hard time getting out of it. So, our goal is to get off to another good start and to keep it rolling as we get through the season."

The eight-team double elimination NSIC Tournament takes place May 10-13, hosted by the University of Mary at Veterans Memorial/Municipal Ballparks, in Mandan & Bismarck, N.D.
 
MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS: PITCHERS
On the mound, the Golden Bears return three starting pitchers from last season, along with nine returners. New faces will appear on the mound with three incoming freshmen and a pair of transfers.

"We are really focusing on cutting down walk numbers. We walked way too many guys last year and we are really challenging our pitchers to throw competitive strikes and let our defense work it out," Lerner stated.

Korey Dahlberg was named the Golden Bears' NSIC Preseason Pitcher to Watch this season. The sophomore will be at the top of the starting rotation for the Golden Bears season. In his freshman campaign, the RHP compiled a 4-4 (.500) record with 26 strikeouts in 39.2 innings.

"Korey moved into the starting rotation right away as a freshman. He was a weekend starter right away and we look for this to be kind of the next step for him to move up this year after finishing 4-4 last year," Lerner stated.

Potential starts for this season include Christian Morel, Gavin Rusch, Jonah Lewis, Reece Piontek and Logan Shaffer. Lewis returns with the most starts (10) and innings (46.1) under his belt this season.

Concordia brought in a pair of transfers to help make an impact on the mound. Leo Bustos joined the team from Century, where he appeared in five and started three games for the Wood Ducks, and Jack Nicklaus, who comes in as a mid-year transfer from Saint Scholastica.

Out of the bullpen, Matt Sherman, Eric Lundell, Mason Nadolney and Carter Schulte look to use veteran leverage to their advantage in closing situations. CSP also bring in a trio of freshman in Evan Eberle, Issac Johnson and Carter McQuery who will also be given a chance to showcase their skills. Lundell returns with the most relief appearances (11) on the mound for the Golden Bears from last season.

The Golden Bears will be without sophomore pitcher David Salz, who is out with a season-ending injury. "That's a big loss for us. We view him as someone who would get some quality innings," Lerner commented on his Salz injury.

MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS: CATCHERS
Senior Justin McGuigan will return behind the plate as the catcher for the Golden Bears. At the plate, he recorded 15 hits,14 RBIs and nine runs. "We are looking for him [McGuigan] to step up this year as one of our catchers. He has battled injuries, but if he's healthy he will get the first shot," Lerner stated.

CSP will have depth at catcher with sophomore Jack Greenlun and senior Michael Sturek on the roster. As a junior, Sturek appeared in nine and started one game for the Golden Bears' and Greenlun contributed to seven games of his own.

MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS: INFIELD
Kal Brohmer, who was named Second Team All-NSIC Designated Hitter last season, will make the transition over to first base this season. As a freshman, he slashed .232/.302/.339 in 56 conference at-bats in 22 games and 16 starts. Lerner stated, "He [Brohmer] is a left-handed hitter who swings the bat really well and showed a ton of upside last season."

Mitch Klass will provide depth and experience with 30 appearances and three starts a season ago, along with Lamine Diaby-Gassama, who may be used in a DH role this season after posting a .308 batting average and .785 on-base percentage last season.

Roybal will return as the starting second baseman for the Golden Bears. He finished sixth in the conference last season in on-base percentage and recorded 26 hits, 18 runs and 15 RBIs in 100 plate appearances.

Jaden Werner will return as the starting shortstop after an impressive showing last season. He led the team in home runs and tallied 27 hits, 25 runs, 22 RBIs and 18 walks in 110 plate appearances.

Carter Shook will provide depth at the shortstop position. Lerner had high praise for the sophomore stating, "He [Shook] is probably our truest shortstop. He has the best throwing arm, good feet and is a really good defender."

To add depth to the infield, Koby McBroome will have a chance to play at either second or shortstop this season after transferring from Division I Wagner University. In his lone season with the Seahawks, he appeared in four games.

Rounding out the infield is Bryce Nelson, who is returning to third base this season for the Golden Bears. Nelson had an impressive showing from behind the plate after slashing .250/.345/.364 with 25 hits, 20 RBI's and 19 runs in 100 at-bats that included four home runs, three doubles and a triple.

Mason Nadolney will also see some time at third as well this season. The two-position player appeared in the infield 16 times last season and recorded eight hits, four RBIs and three runs during his 39 plate appearances.

MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS: OUTFIELD
Nick Thimsen was named the Golden Bears Player to Watch and will start in right field this season. The junior slashed .294/.356/.419 a season ago with 14 RBIs and eight stolen bases on 11 attempts (72%). In his freshman campaign, he was named a Second Team All-Conference Outfielder by the NSIC. "Timmy [Thimsen] will be hitting in the middle of the order. He is a solid guy for us and we look for him to have another good season," Lerner stated.

Mason Wolf is expected to take over the center field position this season. He made 30 appearances and started 13 games last season for the Golden Bears. At the plate, the plate, he tallied nine hits, six RBIs, five runs and six walks in 42 plate appearances. "He Wolf is the best defensive outfielder we have, so we will run him out there in center field," Lerner stated.

Noah Juliar, a transfer from Northern Iowa Area Community College, will take over the left field role this season. He made 35 appearances in two seasons for the Trojans with a .333 batting average, 23 runs, 21 RBIs and three home runs.

Michael Sturek and Century transfer Chris Jacobs may also see time in the outfield or in utility roles, along with freshman Landon Behringer and Cooper Borchardt who have impressed the coaching staff so far.

 FINAL WORDS FROM COACH LERNER
"We appreciate any support that we get. We're fortunate to have a group of alumni that supports our program really well. We're also fortunate to have a group of parents who travel around and support us really well."

Lerner concluded with, "I think you will see an exciting brand of baseball from us this year. We are going to play hard, give it our all and hopefully come out in the win column quite often."