ST. PAUL, Minn. - Officials from Concordia-St. Paul and Southwest Minnesota State announced on Thursday that this weekend's three-game Northern Sun (NSIC) baseball series between the two schools will now be played on Friday and Saturday at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. 

The teams will play a doubleheader on Friday morning at 7 a.m., with a single game on Saturday morning at 7 a.m.

The series was originally scheduled to be played on the campus of SMSU in Marshall but has been relocated due to poor weather this weekend. SMSU will continue to serve as the "home" team this weekend.

Concordia is 8-10 overall and 3-3 in the NSIC, coming off of a 6-4 spring trip to the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational while SMSU enters the weekend 12-5 overall, 2-4 NSIC.

Live stats and video for the series will be available, courtesy of SMSU athletics.

US BANK STADIUM INFORMATION

• Tickets available via Ticketmaster: https://www.ticketmaster.com/us-bank-stadium-tickets-minneapolis/venue/49284
• Baseball at US Bank Stadium: https://www.usbankstadium.com/events/detail/us-bank-stadium-baseball-games-4
• Doors open for all games open 30 minutes prior to start time
• Spectators enter through the Lower Pentair Gate
• Seating is available in Sections 126-130
• Tickets are available for advance purchase only via Ticketmaster (link above)
• No re-entry
• Games and times are subject to change or cancellation

SERIES HISTORY: CSP 45, SMSU 31
The Golden Bears and Mustangs have been 76 times entering this weekend's series, with all but one of those meetings in CSP's Division II and NSIC-era (1999-present). Concordia has won three in a row and four of hte last five dating back to the 2024 NSIC Tournament, and including last year's regular season series in Minnetonka when CSP carried a 3-1 series win.

The Golden Bears are 27-22 against SMSU in conference games and 32-15 against the Mustangs at neutral sites as the teams rarely play each other on campus locations. CSP has only played 13 games all-time in Marshall, and the Mustangs have only visited Barnes Field 16 times among the 76 all-time meetings. 

The last time the Golden Bears and Mustangs played indoors in Minneapolis was 2013 at the Metrodome, an 8-7 SMSU win. The teams also met at the Dome in 2008, a split between the clubs in conference games.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS: 6-4 SPRING TRIP
Concordia is coming off of a 6-4 spring trip to the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. During the trip, Charlie Harms' bat was at hot as the Florida sun as the first baseman hit .529/.610/.676 (18-34) in the 10 games with team-highs of five doubles, 11 runs and 11 RBIs. Eric Berg also had a big week, hitting .394/.436/.485 (13-33) with three doubles, nine RBIs and three stolen bases. Kaden Johnson, who has bounced between the top two spots in the lineup, scored 10 times in 10 games, adding three doubles, a triple and a .324/.429/.471 (11-34) batting line and a team-high five stolen bases. With his high early season OBP, Nick Carlson has seen some leadoff opportunities, and in Florida led the team with eight walks while providing a .417 OBP and four steals, scoring nine times. 

Extra-base hit machine Gus Berger led the team with six more extra-base hits on the trip, hitting a pair of doubles, three triples and one home run while scoring nine and driving in eight runs and producing a positive 7-4 BB-SO ratio to go with a .258/.400/.613 (8-31) slash line as six of his eight hits went for extra bases and his 1.013 OPS was second only to Harms on the week. 

Eight different players started at least seven games and seven of those eight players produced a .400-plus OBP. Blake Eckmann played in nine games and started seven on the trip, hitting .368/.519/.421 (7-19) with his .519 OBP second only to Harms on the trip. He scored six runs and drove in five.

In the 10 games, 13 different position players drew at least one start with 11 players starting in three-plus games, and 18 players received a plate appearance. 

The pitching staff was led by Lou Walker and Evan Newlander, who each had a pair of starts. Newlander didn't receive a decision on the trip, but carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and allowed only three hits in 8.2 total innings with 11 strikeouts and a .111 opponent average. He allowed one run and carried a 1.04 ERA in his two starts. Walker went 2-0 in his two starts, holding a 5.23 ERA in 10.1 innings. 

The team's three conference starters, Sam Kennedy, Ollie Yuhas and Jack Thompson all pitched five-plus innings. Kennedy secured a win in his start, striking out four while allowing three runs in five innings. Yuhas pitched into the seventh inning in his start, allowing five runs in 6.2 innings and Thompson had nine strikeouts while pitching into the sixth inning (5.2), allowing five runs on five hits.

The bullpen had some big performances, as well. Ryley Wuebkers and Justin Benjamin combined for 7.2 one-hit shutout innings with nine strikeouts. Wuebkers appeared in two games with 4.1 innings, allowing a hit and three walks with five strikeouts. Benjamin appeared in two games and had two saves and didn't allow a hit or walk in 3.1 innings with four strikeouts. 

Daniel Musgjerd also had a strong performance covering 3.1 innings, striking out seven of the nine batters he faced without allowing a baserunner and pitching out of a 1st and 3rd situation in the sixth inning with a pickoff.

Caden Carsen led the team with three relief appearances on the trip, working 7.1 innings and allowing a run on four hits and three walks for a sub-1.00 WHIP and six strikeouts, also securing a victory and a save. 

Cole Newell produced a 3.1 inning appearance, allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts, and Tyus Smith held a 3.68 ERA across 7.1 innings in two relief outings, striking out four and walking one. Liam Bystol also appeared in two games and ate innings, allowing three earned runs (four total) in five frames while securing a save. 

Nolan Swenson had a short stint, pitching once and striking out all three batters he faced while Jake McNeil picked up an out against his one batter faced and Bennett Brathol pitching three innings, allowing one earned run (two total). 

On the trip, 18 different pitchers took the mound with 10 players pitching in at least two games while eight different pitchers earned a start. 

During the trip, Concordia carried a +12 run margin (65-53), had a better average (.289 to .264), OBP (.406 to .378) and better slugging (.395 to .376). CSP had more extra-base hits (26 to 23) and stolen bases (20 to 19). 

CSP ON THE LEADERBOARDS
Freshman Gus Berger leads the NSIC early in the season with three triples and 22 RBIs and is tied for third in the NSIC with teammate Charlie Harms with seven doubles. Fellow freshman Nick Carlso leads the NSIC with 19 walks and ranks 14th in the nation with 1.19 walks per game. Kaden Johnson is sixth in the league with nine stolen bases and Jusin Benjamin is second in the league with three saves. 

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
The Mustangs entered the 2026 season picked ninth in the 15-team NSIC Baseball Presason Coaches' Poll, a spot and a vote ahead of Winona State and two spots ahead of CSP. SMSU is coming off of a ninth-place finish in the 2025 standings (18-22), going 23-24 overall and missing the NSIC Tournament as the Mustangs ended the season on a 7-game losing streak.

The Mustangs have opened strong, however, with a 12-5 overall record and entering the weekend series riding an 8-game winning streak with a 6-0 trip to Tucson, Arizona including 4-straight run-rule wins while scoring at least eight runs in all six contests. Prior to the spring trip, SMSU took three of four from Truman State in Kirksville, Missouri with a pair of 13-3 wins to close out the series.

SMSU opened the year with a pair of NSIC series, splitting a four-game set with Minnesota Crookston in Brandon, South Dakota. SMSU dropped the first two games by a total of three runs before sweeping the second day with a pair of wins by a total of five runs in a closely played series. In the second NSIC series, SMSU dropped two of three against Minot State in Kansas City, Kansas, winning the first game by four (5-1) before falling in the second two games by a total of four (8-9, 6-9).

While SMSU has a 2-4 NSIC record, the Mustangs have an even run margin in the six games.

SMSU has featured Jameson Quinn (2-1, 5.87) and Ryan Bell (2-2, 7.88) pitching in game one and two of doubleheaders three times this year and they have each started four games. Tyler Nesheim (1-0, 3.78) has also started four games for the Mustangs. Cody Wichmann (2-0, 2.45) is also a candidate to start, ranked second on the team with 22.0 innings behind only Quinn (23.0). Jacobson has a 20-4 SO-BB ratio, similar to Quinn's 23-5, while Tad Tjaden (1-1, 4.96) carries a 22-5 SO-BB ratio in 16.1 innings. 

SMSU is hitting .350 as a team with 23 home runs in 17 games, scoring 171 runs for an average of just over 10 per game. Levi Lampert has been the top producer for the Mustangs, hitting .477/.585/.846 (31-65) with 29 runs, seven doubles, five home runs, 20 RBIs and four stolen bases, leading the team in all categories except stolen bases (Henry Hammrich, 6). 

Jared Cortez is also hitting over .400, slashing .410/.467/.557 (25-61) with 16 runs, four doubles, a triple, a homer and 17 RBIs. Connor Davis is second on the teams with 19 RBIs, adding four home runs and a .351/.465/.614 slash (20-57) with 22 runs. Hammrich, the stolen bases leader, is second on the team with a .711 slugging percentage with five doubles, a triple and three home runs while adding a .525 OBP. (16-45). 

The Mustangs have been able to play a variety of players early in the year, and Tanner Rezny has taken advantage of his opportunities, hitting .485/.556/.818 (16-33) in 13 games and nine starts with three home runs and 17 RBIs. Caden King has also made the most of his opportunities in 10 games and eight starts, hitting .407/.500/.444 (11-27) with 13 runs.