ST. PAUL, Minn. - This week, Concordia-St. Paul (6-7, 2-2 NSIC) returns to the diamond, hosting a 4-game neutral site NSIC series against the University of Mary (4-9, 0-4 NSIC) at Veterans Field on the campus of Minnetonka High School on the western edge of the Twin Cities. The game schedule has been shifted, and will feature a pair of doubleheaders at noon on Thursday and Friday. 

Thursday's first pitch has a 52 degree forecast with SE 9 mph wind. The partly cloudy conditions will stick, with temperatures ranging into the low 60s by mid-to-late afternoon, with wind picking up to 14 mph. On Friday, first pitch temperature is a 62 degree forecast with mostly cloudy conditions and a SE 13 mph wind. Temperatures are predicted to reach 73 degrees with clearing conditions, approaching record high temperatures. There is a threat of thunderstorms in the evening. 

LAST TIME OUT: NSIC OPENING SPLIT AGAINST MINOT STATE
The Golden Bears are coming off of their first NSIC contests against Minot State, a 4-game series in Tucson, Arizona, dropping the first two games before rebounding with a Sunday sweep to even the series with the Beavers. The Golden Bears hit .343 with a .422 team OBP and .469 team slugging percentage, out-homering Minot State 3-1 in the series. Kal Brohmer led the hitters by going 9-17 at the plate for a .529/.556/.647 slash with a team-high six runs, a triple, a stolen base and three RBIs. Four different players drove in four runs apiece, and Trett Joles, Will Husemann and Bennett McCollow each doubled, homered and drove in four in the series. 

Three of Concordia's starting pitchers: Korey Dahlberg (6.0 IP, 0 ER), Ian Segna (7.0 IP, 2 ER) and Gavin Rusch (4.1 IP, 2 ER) pitched into the fifth inning or later and allowed two earned runs or less while the bullpen allowed five earned runs in the series in nearly 12 innings of combined work led by Reece Piontek's 3.0-inning save, striking out three and allowing one hit and no walks. 

GOLDEN BEARS IN THE NATIONAL/NSIC RANKINGS
TEAM STATS (247 DII programs & 14 NSIC programs)
Scoring, 8.6 runs/game, 26th NCAA & 4th NSIC
Batting Average, .329, 22nd NCAA & 3rd NSIC
On Base Percentage, .418, 55th NCAA & 4th NSIC
Slugging Percentage, .502, 29th NCAA & 2nd NSIC
Doubles per game, 2.23, 29th NCAA & 1st NSIC
Home Runs per game, 1.15, 35th NCAA & 3rd NSIC
DPs turned per game, 1.08, 12th NCAA & 2nd NSIC
Strikouts per 9 innings, 8.9, 61st NCAA & 6th NSIC

INDIVIDUAL STATS
Batting Average, Noah Juliar, .436, 71st NCAA & 6th NSIC
Slugging Percentage, Bennett McCollow, .796, 41st NCAA & 4th NSIC
Hits/Game, Noah Juliar, 1.85, 15th NCAA & 4th NSIC
Doubles/Game, Noah Juliar, 0.46, 45th NCAA & 3rd NSIC
Doubles/Game, Eric Berg, 0.45, 48th NCAA & 4th NSIC
Home Runs/Game, Bennett McCollow, 0.38, 31st NCAA & 2nd NSIC
Home Runs/Game, Will Husemann, 0.31, 69th NCAA & 7th NSIC
Runs/Game, Will Husemann & Bennett McCollow, 1.38, 34th NCAA & 6th NSIC

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST UMARY
The Golden Bears lead the all-time series 33-12 with Concordia dominating the early portion of the series between 2007-2018 with a 28-5 record against the Marauders including a 20-game winning streak from February 6, 2009 to April 3, 2016. 

In recent years, the Marauders have leveled things out by posting a 7-5 record against CSP including taking three of four from CSP last year in Brandon, South Dakota. This will be the third time the programs will meet in Minnetonka, with CSP sweeping a doubleheader in 2018 and UMary sweeping a doubleheader in 2021. 

The Golden Bears hold a 28-12 record in conference games against UMary and a 13-6 record at neutral sites. 

ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
UMary is off to a 4-9 overall start including an 0-4 NSIC record, dropping four games to Minnesota State in a series played in Omaha February 28-March 2. In the series, the Mavericks posted double-digit wins in the series opener (17-1) and finale (16-6) but the Marauders kept things tight in games two (2-0) and three (4-2). Prior to NSIC-play, UMary faced a healthy portion of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), scoring a 4-game split at Metro State in Denver and also plucking a win from UC-Colorado Springs in Tucson. The Marauders also picked up a wild 26-22 win at Missouri Western State in late February. 

In the conference games, the Marauders hit .220 with a .309 OBP and .322 slugging percentage and were led by Bryce Leafgren's torrid .444/.643/1.000 (4-9) line for a 1.643 OPS. Three of his four hits went for extra bases including two doubles and a homer. Additionally, Kalem Haney posted a .976 OPS on a .308/.438/.538 (4-13) line and Isaac Pegors led the team with five RBIs including a home run. 

Aiden Johnson anchored the rotation with a 6.0 inning start, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits while Ryan Chamberlain (5.0 IP, 2 ER) and Lucas Burgum (5.0 IP, 3 ER, 7 SO) each worked five innings, with Adam Golby (4.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 SO) also working into the fifth inning. Jaxon Zanolli led the bullpen with four shutout innings, striking out six with no walks while allowing three hits. 

Across their first 13 games, Leafgren leads the Marauders with a .576/.651/.879 (19-33) batting line with a 1.530 OPS and four doubles while adding two homers and 10 RBIs. He's second in the nation in hitting, third in OBP and 18th in slugging percentage. Two other Marauders, Kieran Gaffney (1.021) and Isaac Pegors (1.106) have 1.000-plus OPS and three more have an OPS above .850. 

Johnson leads the pitching staff with a 3.94 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in three starts with a 1-1 record, working 16.0 innings with eight strikeouts and 17 hits allowed. Overall, UMary's pitching staff has surrendered a 10.28 team ERA.