ST. PAUL, Minn. – This weekend, Concordia-St. Paul (16-21, 12-15 NSIC) will host Augustana (26-11, 20-7 NSIC) for a  3-game series at Barnes Field. The Golden Bears and Vikings will play a Friday doubleheader at 1 p.m. followed by a single game at noon on getaway day on Saturday ahead of the Easter holiday.

This is Concordia's first home weekend series of the season and is the conclusion of a 5-game homestand in the midst of a stretch of the season with CSP playing 10-of-12 games at Barnes Field.

Concordia will look to get hot in a hurry, entering the weekend having dropped six of their last seven, but with two of those being 1-run losses, a 3-run loss, an extra-inning loss and a game trailing by one in the sixth inning (of a seven-inning game).
 
Meanwhile, the Vikings enter the weekend have won seven in a row and 10-of-11. The seven-game win streak includes six wins over Concordia's last two opponents, Winona State (4) and Wayne State (2).
 
In the NSIC Standings, Augustana is chasing conference-leader Minnesota State (Concordia's next opponent), trailing the Mavericks by four games while Concordia is tied for 10^th with Minnesota Duluth, a game out of an eighth-place tie between UMary and Winona State.
 
The games this weekend will be streamed on the NSIC Network with the play-by-play call from Dan Flanagan, and feature live in-game statistics to follow along online.
 
SERIES HISTORY: AUGIE 42, CSP 5
The Golden Bears and Vikings have met 47 times since 2007 with the Vikings riding a 14-game winning streak in a stretch that includes Augie winning 24 of the last 25 meetings with Augustana winning a Division II championship during that run which included CSP pitching coach Derek Dahlke playing for the Vikings (2015-19).
 
Concordia's lone win in that stretch was against an Augustana squad that had Dahlke as a member of the 2019 team. Dahlke faced the Golden Bears as a pitcher four times including twice at Barnes Field in 2017 as well as two times in 2018. In his four appearances against CSP, two were 1-2-3 1.0 inning appearances, and CSP tagged five runs against him in the other two appearances. In all, CSP scored five earned runs in 3.2 innings against their current pitching coach.   
 
In the series, 31 of the 47 games have been played at campus sites with Augustana holding a 10-0 record at Barnes Field, but haven't visited CSP's home park since Dahlke was a member of the Vikings in 2017. Augie also came to St. Paul in 2012 for a doubleheader and a 4-game series in 2010.
 
Of Concordia's five wins against the Vikings, they've been able to close out close games with four 1-run wins and a 3-run victory.
 
Head coach Neil Lerner is seeking his first win over Augustana with an 0-13 record, with this being his first time hosting Augustana.
 
ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS
Coming off of an NSIC Tournament final four finish, the Golden Bears rank in the top-5 in the NSIC in double plays turned (26), sacrifice bunts (16), strikeouts/9 innings (8.5) and triples (8). Their ability to get efficient outs via the strikeout and double play, combined with the ability to put down sacrifice bunts has led to the team repeatedly competing in close contests with 10 1-run games and five 2-run games.
 
From the top of the lineup, Kal Brohmer is second in the NSIC with 29 walks while third-batter Noah Juliar is fifth in the conference with 53 hits and eighth with 11 doubles, while Koby McBroome, who bookends the lineup hitting mostly leadoff or ninth, is second in the Northern Sun with three triples.
 
On the mound, Ian Segna is eighth in the NSIC with 2.85 strikeout/walk ratio, Gavin Rusch is sixth in the conference with 9.76 strikeouts/9 and Jack Greenlun is seventh with three saves.
 
ABOUT THE VIKINGS
Defending NSIC regular season and tournament champion Augustana, picked first in the 2025 NSIC Preseason Coaches' poll, sits in second place in the NSIC, trailing Minnesota State by four games.
 
They've lost twice to St. Cloud State and Minnesota Crookston and once each to UMD, UMary and Sioux Falls while earning sweeps over Bemidji State, Winona State and Wayne State.
 
The Vikings enter the weekend leading the league in batting average (.340, 12^th DII), stolen bases (104, 22^nd DII) and strikeouts/9 innings (10.1, 5^th DII). They also rank among the league's top-3 in doubles (78, 50^th DII), ERA (4.69, 41^st DII), fielding percentage (.974, 19^th DII), fewest hits allowed/9 innings (8.13, 8^th DII), on base percentage (.437, 18^th DII), scoring (9.4, 14^th DII), slugging percentage (.501, 37^th DII), strikeout-walk ratio (2.14, 42^nd DII), triples (10) and WHIP (1.43, 29^th DII).
 
Jack Hines leads the lineup with the nation's second-leading batting average at .467 backed by his league-leading 63 hits and .522 OBP. He adds a .637 slugging percentage, 42 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. The lineup features five players with an OPS over 1.000 with Jason Axelberg leading the team with 11 home runs, adding 41 RBIs and a .697 slugging percentage, and Troy Berg leading the team with 11 doubles, adding 16-16 on the basepaths. Trevor Winterstein is second on the team in hitting (.393), has seven doubles, seven home runs, a team-high 54 runs and is tied with Hines for the team lead with 20 stolen bases.
 
JD Hennen fronts the pitching staff, allowing just 0.52 hits/9 innings to top the NSIC and rank fifth in the country. He leads the league and ranks 11^th in the nation with 12.9 strikeouts/9 and is fifth in the NSIC with a 1.19 WHIP.
 
POTENTIAL PITCHING MATCHUPS
Teams do not promote or communicate their probable pitching matchups in the Northern Sun, but below is a projection based on each team's season-long and recent usage:
 
AUGIE:

1. Ashton Michek (8 app, 8 GS, 5-2, 3.63 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 44.2 IP, 50-19 SO-BB, .226 oav)
2. JD Hennen (8 app, 6 GS, 5-1, 4.30 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 37.2 IP, 54-23 SO-BB, .171 oav)
3. Ethan Cole (8 app, 6 GS, 4-2, 3.98 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 40.2 IP, 42-15 SO-BB, .265 oav)

 
CSP:

1. Korey Dahlberg (8 app, 8 GS, 1-4, 6.92 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 39.0 IP, 28-21 SO-BB, .287 oav)
2. Gavin Rusch (8 app, 7 GS, 2-3, 5.45 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 39.2 IP, 43-16 SO-BB, .310 oav)
3. Ian Segna (8 app, 7 GS, 4-2, 4.20 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 40.2 IP, 37-13 SO-BB, .289 oav)

 
PLAYER NOTES:
Bennett McCollow (2B-31, DH-6 | 1^st-1, 2^nd-31, 3^rd-5)
2025: 37 GP, .321/.448/.527 (42-131), 28 R, 9 2B, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 23-28 BB-SO
Career: 88 GP, .382/.485/.627 (123-322), 92 R, 27 2B, 2 3B, 16 HR, 70 RBI, 48-60 BB-SO

• Opened season reaching base (H, BB, HBP) in 14-straight games, extending his streak to 28 games
• Has reached base safely in 32 of 37 games
• Second on the team with 14 multi-hit games including three of the last five games
• Ranks 5^th in CSP history with a .485 career OBP
• Ranks 10^th in CSP history with a .382 career average
• 2025 NCBWA (DH) & D2 Baseball (2B) Preseason All-America First Team
• 2024 D2 Baseball All-America Second Team (2B) & 64 Analytics D2 All-America (DH)
• 2024 All-Central Region Team (D2CCA, ABCA, NCBWA)
• 2024 NSIC Newcomer of the Year
• 2024 All-NSIC First Team & NSIC All-Tournament Team

 
Noah Juliar (RF-37 | 3^rd-32, 4^th-5)
2025: 37 GP, .368/.421/.479 (53-144), 24 R, 11 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 13-18 BB-SO
Career: 132 GP, .333/.397/.511 (163-489), 100 R, 30 2B, 9 3B, 13 HR, 123 RBI, 52-85 BB-SO, 5-6 SB

• Opened season on 12-game hitting streak and 13-game reach base streak, extending his overall reach base streak to 25 games
• Has reached base safely in 34 of 37 games on the season and hit safely in 31 of 37 games
• Had a season-long 17-game reach base streak snapped in game 2 at SCSU
• Has two reach base streaks of 12-plus games this season
• Leads team with 16 multi-hit games including five games with 3-plus hits
• 5^th NSIC with 53 hits
• 8^th NSIC with 11 doubles
• 12^th NSIC with .368 average
• Ranks 4^th in CSP history with 9 triples
• Ranks t-7^th in CSP history with 123 RBIs
• Ranks 10^th in CSP history with 250 total bases
• 2024 CSC Academic All-District Team

 
Kal Brohmer (LF-21, 1B-5, 2B-3, DH-7) | 1^st-19, 2^nd-5, 5^th-1, 6^th-8, 7^th-3)
2025: 36 GP, .274/.413/.333 (32-117), 26 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 24 RBI, 29-20 BB-SO, 4-5 SB, .964 fld
Career: 158 GP, .304/.422/.383 (150-494), 102 R, 21 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 85 RBI, 100-95 BB-SO, 9-13 SB, .990 fld

• Opened season reaching base safely in 14 games, extending streak to 25 games
• Has currently reached base safely in 12 straight games
• Has reached base successfully in 34 of 36 games
• 2^nd NSIC with 29 walks
• 4^th NSIC with four sacrifice bunts
• Ranks t-1^st in CSP history with 10 sacrifice flies
• Ranks 2^nd in CSP history with 100 walks, one shy of the school record (Jon Stockton, 2008-11)
• Ranks 5^th in CSP history with 713 putouts
• Ranks 6^th in CSP history with six triples
• Ranks 8^th in CSP history with 56 double plays turned
• 2022 All-NSIC Second Team (DH)

 
Koby McBroome (SS-35 | 1^st-15, 6^th-2, 9^th-18)
2025: 35 GP, .271/.390/.415 (32-118), 22 R, 5 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 20-24 BB-SO, 6-8 SB
Career: 98 GP, .267/.408/.394 (82-307), 77 R, 13 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 69-76 BB-SO, 7-9 SB

• Had a 10-game reached base streak earlier this season
• Riding an 8-game hitting streak
• Has reached base safely in 30 of 35 games on the year
• Had three games with 3-plus RBIs in a 6-game stretch (vs Tiffin, NWMSU, Park Gilbert)
• 2^nd NSIC with three triples
• Ranks 8^th in CSP history with 69 walks

 
Will Husemann (3B-37 | 4^th-19, 5^th-5, 6^th-9, 7^th-3, 8^th-1)
2025: 37 GP, .256/.351/.406 (34-133), 26 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 13-47 BB-SO, 4-4 SB
Career: 55 GP, .278/.363/.455 (49-176), 34 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 16-62 BB-SO, 4-4 SB

• Had a team-high 17-game reached base streak
• Has reached base in 32 of 37 games on the season
• Leads the team with 10 multi-RBI games
• Third on the team with 10 multi-hit games
• Second on the team with five home runs leads the team with 26 RBIs
• CSP has 5-3 record when batting in 6^th spot in lineup

 
MISCELLANEOUS PLAYER NOTES:

• Freshman Eric Berg is third on the team in hitting at .291 (30-103) and third in doubles (8)
• Catcher Trett Joles is third on the team with four home runs and leads the team with 12 HBP. He has reached base in 26 of 33 games.
• Center fielder Kaden Johnson leads the team in stolen bases (10-10) and is third on the team in doubles (8) and home runs (4). Johnson hit two home runs in game 1 against Winona State.
• First baseman Charlie Harms is second on the team with 20 walks and 24 RBIs, with 14 RBIs in the last seven games with five multi-RBI games in the last seven contests
• All nine Golden Bear starting position players have at least a .351 OBP with four surpassing .400

 
PITCHER NOTES:
Korey Dahlberg
2025: 8 APP/8 GS, 1-4, 6.92 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 39.0 IP, 28-21 SO-BB, .287 oav
Career: 41 APP/40 GS, 14-19, 6.57 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 200.0 IP, 146-81 SO-BB, .306 oav

• Has registered three quality starts in 2025, working 6.0 IP with 0 ER with 5 SO against Minot State, 6.0 IP with 2 ER and 4 SO against Northern State and 8.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 SO against SMSU
• Has allowed six hits or less in six of eight starts
• Has at least four strikeouts in five of eight starts
• Has pitched 4.0 or more innings in seven of eight starts including six in a row
• Has only allowed four stolen bases against in five tries on the season
• Ranks 1^st in CSP history with 40 games started
• Ranks 3^rd in CSP history with 964 batters faced
• Ranks 7^th in CSP history with 200.0 innings pitched

 
Gavin Rusch
2025: 8 APP/7 GS, 2-3, 5.45 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 39.2 IP, 43-16 SO-BB, .310 oav
Career: 36 APP/28 GS, 8-7, 6.89 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, 147.2 IP, 110-51 SO-BB, .319 oav

• Had season-high 10 strikeouts in 6.0 IP, allowing 0 ER against Northern State
• Has pitched at least 4.0 IP in all eight appearances
• Has allowed 2 ER or less in four of eight appearances
• Has at least four strikeouts in all seven starts
• Has only allowed six SB in nine attempts on the season
• 6^th NSIC with 9.76 strikeouts/9 innings
• 12^th NSIC with 2.69 strikeout-walk ratio

 
Ian Segna
2025: 8 APP/7 GS, 4-2, 4.20 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 40.2 IP, 37-13 SO-BB, .289 oav
Career: 19 APP/17 GS, 10-3, 4.62 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 97.1 IP, 69-27 SO-BB, .314 oav

• Had a string of five consecutive starts pitching at least 5.0 IP and allowing 3 ER or less
• Has pitched at least 5.0 IP in six of seven starts
• Has 7+ strikeouts in three starts
• Had a streak winning four-straight decisions and four of five starts
• Pitched second career shutout in win over SMSU (7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO)
• Recorded 9 SO in 7.0 IP against Minot State, with 1 BB and 2 ER
• Recorded 7 SO in 5.0 IP against UMary, allowing 1 ER on 2 H and 2 BB
• Allowed 2 ER in 6.0 IP with 3-0 SO-BB ratio against Northern State
• Recorded 9 SO in 6.0 IP against UMC, allowing 3 ER on 6 H and 1 BB
• 8^th in NSIC with a 2.85 strikeout-walk ratio
• 10^th in NSIC with a 4.20 ERA

 
PITCHING NOTES:

• Senior Fritz Meyer has 9 app/7 starts, striking out 34 over 33.1 IP with a 5.13 ERA and 1.59 WHIP
• Meyer had career-high nine strikeouts in 4.1 scoreless innings against UMC
• Meyer has pitched 4.0 or more innings in six of his seven starts including five-straight
• Senior Jack Greenlun leads the team with 14 relief appearances, working 26.1 innings out of the bullpen with 30 strikeouts and a .257 opponent average with a win and three saves.
• Greenlun has allowed 1 or 0 runs in nine of his 14 appearances
• Greenlun took the loss in game 2 at SCSU, allowing one unearned run in 4.2 innings
• Greenlun saved two games in one doubleheader against UMC
• In two seasons as a pitcher, he's struck out 45 batters in 45.1 innings in 25 appearances
• Redshirt freshman Liam Bystol, one of three LHP in the bullpen, has a 5.29 ERA in 17.0 IP in 10 appearances, striking out 14 with a 1.41 WHIP and .243 oav. He opened the year with 5.2 scoreless innings in his first three appearances and also had back-to-back 2.0 IP scoreless and no-hit appearances against UMary (3/13) and UMC (3/27).
• Junior Christian Lindow has struck out 18 batters in 18.2 innings across 11 appearances (one start), the second-most appearances on the team. He's 2-0 with a save, a 7.71 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP while holding opposing hitters to a .268 oav.
• Senior Reece Piontek, one of three LHP in the bullpen, has 27 strikeouts in 24.1 IP with a 7.40 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in nine appearances (three starts) and may have earned a role as a midweek starting pitcher
• In his top appearance of the season against SMSU, he entered in the 5^th inning in a bases loaded, 2-out jam and recorded a strikeout to preserve a 2-2 tie in a game he would finish with 4.1 shutout innings and an 8-1 SO-BB ratio for a 3-2 win.
• In his next outing at SCSU, Piontek entered with runners on 2^nd and 3^rd and trailing 4-3 with two outs in the third inning, getting a strikeout to end the threat in a game that would go into extra innings. He struck out five in 2.1 innings in the outing.
• In Piontek's career, he has 115.1 career IP in 41 appearances with 24 starts and a 5-7 lifetime record, striking out 97 with an 8.33 ERA.
• Junior Ollie Yuhas, one of three LHP in the bullpen, has pitched to a 3.97 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 11.1 IP across six appearances with a 6-3 SO-BB ratio and .184 oav. He hasn't allowed more than one hit in an appearance since allowing three hits in 2.0 IP in his debut on 2/24 and has pitched four times in a row without issuing a walk covering 7.1 IP. Yuhas hasn't appeared in a game since March 22
• Junior Cooper Mollet has recorded a 3.95 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 13.2 innings with 15 strikeouts in nine appearances, holding hitters to a .180 average. He's yet to allow more than three hits to an opponent. He had a 5-0 SO-BB ratio in 3.1 innings, allowing a run on three hits in his most recent outing against Winona State.
• Nine different pitchers have started a game for CSP this year, 10 pitchers have secured a win, and four different pitchers have secured at least one save.

 
COACH LERNER WINS 100^th GAME
The Golden Bears secured the 100^th win in head coach Neil Lerner's career with the game four win over SMSU, which also secured the 3-1 series win. He's been head coach since the COVID-shortened 2020 season and is the third to reach the milestone in Concordia's 4-year college era (1967-68 to present).