ST. PAUL, Minn. – Concordia-St. Paul baseball (27-20, 19-19 NSIC) returns to the NSIC Tournament tomorrow for their opening round match up against No. 9 Augustana (S.D.) (43-8, 32-6 NSIC). Action from BNC Field in Mandan, North Dakota, is slated to begin at 12:00 p.m.
 
WATCH ONLINE - NSIC NETWORK (Pay-per-view)
Powered by the NSIC Network, every game of the 2024 NSIC Baseball Tournament will be streamed live for $10 per game or $30 for a tournament pass.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance of the tournament. The All-Tournament Pass MUST be purchased online or at the gate from your phone. Ticket options include a mobile version or a print at home option.
 
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
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
The first round of the double elimination tournament will consist of four games at two different locations. In addition to Concordia-St. Paul playing Augustana, (5)Wayne State will play (4)St. Cloud State, host (7)UMary will play (2)Minnesota State and (6)Southwest Minnesota State will play (3)Minnesota Crookston.
 
The winner of the NSIC Baseball Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The 38-team NCAA Central Region is made up of teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis.
 
HISTORY AT THE NSIC TOURNAMENT
Since joining the league in 2000, the Golden Bears have recorded a 14-19 record at the conference tournament. CSP claimed their first NSIC Tournament Championship after being named Co-Champions in 2003 and won their first outright title in 2008. Additionally, CSP has been the runner-up finisher on three occasions (2006, 2018, 2018).
 
This season marks the first time since 2018 and the first time under Head Coach Neil Lerner that the Golden Bears have appeared in the NSIC tournament. Concordia is 6-5 all-time in the opening round of the NSIC Tournament and will look to avenge their finals loss to then No. 11 Augustana.
 
NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: GOLDEN BEAR ADDITION
After a phenomenal week at the plate with a cycle and grand slam, junior Bennett McCollow was named NSIC Player of the Week. He joined Mason Nadolney (2/20) and Nick Thimsen (3/25) as the third member of the CSP baseball team to earn this accomplishment this season.
 
SEASON LEADERS
Thimsen finished the regular season with an impressive slash line of .433/.507/.758. He enters the conference tournament with 77 hits (4th NSIC), 59 RBIs (2nd NSIC), 57 runs (t-5th NSIC), 20 walks and eight stolen bases. Extra bases have been a regular occurrence for the Minnetonka, Minnesota native, as he has collected 19 doubles (t-1st NSIC) and 13 home runs (t-5th NSIC)
 
McCollow has also been an offensive machine with 73 hits (6th NSIC), 61 runs (3rd NSIC), 50 RBIs and 25 walks. The junior has collected 27 extra-base with 16 doubles (t-4th NSIC), nine home runs and two triples.
Senior Jaden Werner has collected 23 extra-base hits with 16 doubles, six home runs and a triple. Nadolney's 15 home runs are the third most in the NSIC, and Noah Juliar is tied for the second-most triples in the conference with five so far this season.
 
Korey Dahlberg (5-3) leads the pitching staff with 42 strikeouts in 58.0 innings, and the junior has a team-leading four complete games on the bump. Gavin Rusch (4-3) is second on the team in strikeouts with 40, while freshman Ian Segna (5-1) pitched the team's only complete game shutout of the season against Bemidji State.
 
Eric Lundell (6-2)(4) has been exceptional from the bullpen with four saves (t-2nd NSIC) after pitching 38.0 innings with 30 strikeouts. Matt Sherman (3-2)(1) has also been an anchor in the bullpen for the Navy and Gold with 31 strikeouts in 30.0 innings pitched.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Winners of six-straight, Concordia concluded the regular season on a high note with a doubleheader sweep of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs and a season finale victory over the Sioux Falls Cougars. CSP claimed the doubleheader over UMD after claiming game one, 12-7, and game two, 11-7, before concluding the week with a 9-5 victory over USF.
 
McCollow led the Golden Bears at the plate after collecting nine hits, including four home runs, a triple and a double. The Bloomington, Minnesota natives' cycle against UMD is the first by any player since Eric Fasnacht in 2016, and his grand slam against USF was his first in the Navy and Gold. In addition, he added eight RBIs, eight runs and a pair of walks.
 
Juliar and Werner also shined at the plate with four combined extra-base hits. Juliar collected his fifth triple (2nd NSIC) of the season, while Werner added a pair of doubles (t-4th NSIC).
 
On the bump, Lundell added a pair of wins from the bullpen with a pair of strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched, while Jack Greenlun (1-0) secured his first career win against Minnesota Duluth.
 
Additionally, on the hill, Rusch batted for 5.2 innings with a strikeout in his 11th start of the season, and Jack Nicklaus finished with a week-leading three strikeouts in his second career start.
 
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST AUGIE
The Golden Bears and Vikings have met 43 times since 2007, with the Vikings holding a 41-5 series advantage. Augustana is currently riding a 13-game winning streak, with the last Golden Bear win coming in 2019 with a 1-0 victory in Boone, Iowa. The most significant win for CSP in the series was an 8-5 win back in 2009, as the four other victories were by two runs or less. Concordia has scored 151 runs with an average of 3.28 runs a game.
 
Augustana took the series 3-0 in Sioux Falls earlier this year. Concordia's offense was held to eight runs in 21 innings of action. Augustana claimed game one 8-1, game two 14-4 (7) and game three 14-3 (7). McCollow and Thimsen each homered and Kal Brohmer collected his 100th-career hit against the strong pitching staff, while Evan Eberle had a career-high strikeouts to close the finale.
 
ABOUT THE VIKINGS
Augustana posted a 47-21 (28-7 NSIC) record in the 2023 campaign and was picked to win the conference with 169 points and 13 first-place votes. The Vikings ended the season on an impressive run as they were the seventh seed in the Division II College World Series.
 
The Vikings claimed the 2024 NSIC Baseball Regular Season Championship after finishing conference play 32-6 (41-8). Their dominance on the diamond has kept them consistently ranked in the ABCA NCAA Division II Coaches Poll. In addition, they were ranked fourth in the latest Central Region Rankings.
 
Augie picked up right where they left off from last season with an 8-2 non-conference record. They collected wins over Regis (Colo.), Missouri Western State, Drury (Mo.), Upper Iowa and Southwest Minnesota State.
 
They started conference play strong with a 19-4 record. They have claimed the series against Bemidji State, Minnesota Duluth, UMary (N.D.), Sioux Falls (S.D.), Winona State, Concordia-St. Paul, Southwest Minnesota State, Northern State (S.D.) and Minot State (N.D.). They split their four-game series against St. Cloud State and dropped their series against Minnesota Crookston and Minnesota State.
 
The player to watch for Augustana is #23 Jack Hines. The senior has slashed .431/.473/.873 with 78 hits, 80 RBIs, 67 runs, and 10 walks. He has collected 34 extra-base hits with 20 home runs, eight doubles and six triples.
 
The pitcher to watch is #8 Ashton Michek (8-2). The sophomore lefty has an ERA of 2.66 and a WHIP of 1.07  after 64.1 innings pitched. He has collected 78 strikeouts and has walked 21 batters this season.