ST. PAUL, Minn. - Just a week after a foot of snow, and days after temperatures that dipped below zero, Concordia-St. Paul baseball (10-11, 5-4 NSIC) will play in 80-plus degree temperatures on Friday before a doubleheader in 90-plus degree heat on Saturday at Wayne State (13-9, 5-4 NSIC) in a three-game NSIC weekend series.

The series moved up a day to Friday and Saturday instead of the originally scheduled Saturday/Sunday format to play in the nice conditions with Sunday featuring a high of 53 and low of 24 with heavy wind. 

Concordia is 1-4 in traditional road games on the season, taking one in a four-game series to open the year at Missouri Western State while falling in a competitive 5-2 loss at #10 Rollins to close out the Florida spring trip.

The sunshine and temperatures in the 80s and even 90s won't be new to CSP, having played 10 games in central Florida just over a week ago. 

SERIES HISTORY: WSC 40, CSP 19
Concordia and Wayne State enter the weekend with 59 previous meetings dating back to CSP joining the NSIC in the 2000 baseball season. The Golden Bears started the series against WSC 3-18 from 2000 to 2007. Although CSP would win three of the next five (2007 & 2008), WSC would counter by winning 13 of 14 to swing the series to a 33-7 margin through the end of the 2012 season.

The series was dormant in the 2013 and 2014 seasons with Concordia winning the next eight from 2015 to 2019 as the Golden Bears are 12-7 against the Wildcats since 2015. Last year, WSC swept CSP in a three-game series in Wayne in mid-April and have won the last four in the series.

Concordia is 11-25 all-time at Wayne State and have dropped five in a row but had won five of six prior to the current five game road losing streak in the series.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS*
* - CSP coaching staff does not announce projected starters to the public, projections are based on past usage patterns

CSP
G1: Sam Kennedy, RHP: 1-0, 6.19 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 4 GS, 16.0 IP, 19-7 SO-BB, .270 oav
G2: Ollie Yuhas, LHP: 2-2, 5.40 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 4 GS, 20.0 IP, 8-11 SO-BB, .312 oav
G3: Jack Thompson, LHP: 0-2, 6.61 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 4 GS, 16.1 IP, 20-9 SO-BB, .276 oav
Others: Evan Newlander (0-2, 6.75 ERA, 4 GS); Lou Walker (2-0, 7.50 ERA, 2 GS)

WSC
G1: Tyler Albert, RHP: 4-1, 5.81 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 6 GS, 31.0 IP, 35-8 SO-BB, .322 oav
G2: Braden Sweet, LHP: 1-1, 7.24 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, 4 GS, 13.2 IP, 9-9 SO-BB, .281 oav
G3: Matthias Trondson, RHP: 0-1, 3.68 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 4 GS, 22.0 IP, 14-11 SO-BB, .256 oav
Others: Carson Obrecht (0-3, 9.24 ERA, 4 GS); Clement Febus (0-0, 5.68 ERA, 1 GS)

CSP IN THE NSIC RANKINGS - NCAA ranks in ()
Team
2nd - doubles, 45
2nd - walks, 106
3rd - triples, 9 (20th)
3rd - double plays turned, 14

Individual
1st - walks, Nick Carlson, 21 (15th, 1.11 per game)
1st - sacrifice bunts, Eli Nelson, 4 (32nd)
2nd - saves, Justin Benjamin, 3 (23rd)
2nd - triples, Gus Berger & Kaden Johnson, 3
3rd - doubles, Gus Berger & Charlie Harms, 9
8th - stolen bases, Kaden Johnson, 9
11th - slugging percentage, Gus Berger, .652

ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS - LINEUP NOTES
Having reached base safely in all 21 games this season, Charlie Harms carries a 17-game hitting streak into the weekend and leads CSP in hitting at .382 (29-76) and OBP (.489) with a 15-8 BB-SO ratio. He's tied for the team-lead with nine doubles, is second on the team with 20 runs and third with 15 RBIs. He leads the team with 10 multi-hit games on the season, hitting out of the third spot and playing first base in all 21 contests.

Freshman Gus Berger has made an immediate impact, leading the team with a 1.084 OPS, .652 slugging percentage, 15 extra-base hits, three home runs and 23 RBIs. He's also tied for the team-lead with nine doubles and three triples, third on the team in runs and carries an impressive 15-13 BB-SO ratio in his first 21 career college games. He's hitting .304 (21-69) with a .432 OBP. He's hit safely in the last six games and has a team-high five multi-RBI games including a pair of five-plus RBI performances. He's played left field in all 21 games, hit second 15 times, fifth four times and sixth twice. 

Centerfielder Kaden Johnson is tied with Harms for second on the team with nine extra-base hits and tied with Berger for the team-lead with three triples. He's hit four doubles and two home runs, leads the team with 21 runs and nine stolen bases while getting on base at a .411 clip with nine walks and six HBP to go with his .297 average (22-74). His .514 slugging is second-best on the team and his .925 OPS is third. he's led off 15 times and hit second six times while playing in center in all 21 games. He's second on the team with seven multi-hit games including a team-best three 3-hit games and has a pair of 3-RBI games. 

Sophomore right fielder Eric Berg has gotten hot recently, riding an 8-game hitting streak and 10-game reached base streak into this weekend's series. He's second on the team with four multi-RBI games and third on the team with six multi-hit games including the team's only 4-hit game. Berg has hit cleanup in all 21 games, playing right field 20 times with one game at DH. He's second on the team with a .311 average (23-74) and RBIs (16), adding four steals, a team-high seven HBP, a .391 OBP and is second on the team with six doubles. 

Third baseman Will Husemann powered-up with a Major League homer to right center at US Bank Stadium, giving him five extra-base hits on the year (3 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR) as he's raised his OBP and SLG to .386. A third-year player with 79 starts under his belt, Husemann has slugged 10 career home runs and has a .429 career slugging percentage. 

Freshman Nick Carlson has walked his way into the leadoff role, drawing a team-high 21 walks in his first 19 games with just eight strikeouts. He holds a .442 OBP and is fourth on the team with 14 runs and tied for second with four stolen bases. He's led off six times with CSP holding a 4-2 record with him atop the lineup, while playing shortstop in 17 of his 18 starts, also drawing a start at DH.

Carlson is joined up the middle by fellow freshman second baseman Max Kaplan, who has 14 starts at 2B, adding one at third and three at short. Kaplan has eight runs, nine RBIs and both freshmen middle infielders have hit a triple. Kaplan has committed just one error and carries a .981 fielding percentage on the year. 

Backstops Eli Nelson (14 GP, 13 GS) and Chase McQuade (13 GP, 12 GS) have combined for four home runs, five doubles and 18 RBIs as a tandem and each has scored nine runs. McQuade is slashing .262/.340/.476 (11-42) with two homers and 11 RBIs while Nelson has also slugged a pair of homers and has seven RBIs. Nelson has thrown out three attempted stealers while McQuade has an impressive four caught stealings among 19 attempts. 

Blake Eckmann has surged to a .324/.455/.412 (11-34) batting line in 10 starts and 16 games, scoring 10 runs with three doubles and leads the team with 10 starts at DH. Jack Setterlund (.278/.417/.333) has been getting on base at a high rate with three walks, two HBP, a sac bunt and sac fly while playing in 12 games with six starts at second base. Four other Golden Bears have also started games in the lineup as 15 different position players have drawn starts this season. 

ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS - PITCHING NOTES
The Golden Bears have three pitchers with 19-plus strikeouts with freshman Evan Newlander carrying an impressive 20 strikeouts in 14.2 innings and a .226 opponent average to start his career. Jack Thompson adds a 20-9 SO-BB ratio in 16.1 innings and Sam Kennedy is 19-7 SO-BB in 16.0 innings. 

Justin Benjamin leads the bullpen with an 11-3 SO-BB ratio, a .111 opponent average in 8.1 innings with a 1-0 record and three saves in six appearances for a 3.24 ERA. The reigning NSIC Pitcher of the Week carried six perfect innings last week in two appearances, picking up a win and a save. 

Cole Newell adds a 2.53 ERA in five relief appearances covering 10.2 IP with a 13-9 SO-BB ratio and a .135 opponent average. He's picked up a win and a save. 

Caden Carsen leads the team with seven relief appearances, covering 12.2 innings with a 10-5 SO-BB ratio, holding a 1-1 record with a save and a 4.97 ERA. 

Joining Newell with five relief appearances are Tyus Smith (0-1, 3.09) and Liam Bystol (0-0, 4.35, 1 save). Smith has worked 11.2 innings over his five outings, holding bats to a .273 average with an 8-4 SO-BB while Bystol has 10.1 innings with a .275 average against and five strikeouts. 

Christian Lindow has also appeared in five games including a spot start in Florida. Lindow is 2-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 9.1 innings with seven strikeouts.

Concordia has used 18 different arms on the season with 13 of them appearing in at least four games, while eight different hurlers have started a game for the Golden Bears. 

ABOUT THE WILDCATS
After posting a 25-15 NSIC record to finish tied for third in the league with Sioux Falls in 2025, going 30-22 overall, the Wildcats were slotted fourth in the NSIC Preseason Poll for 2026. They are off to a 13-9 overall and 5-4 start to the NSIC season and carry a 5-game winning streak into the weekend with a three-game sweep of Minnesota Crookston in Wayne. They also won three of four including their last two games in Cary, North Carolina, beating Saint Anselm (N.H.) and Dominican (N.Y.) to end their trip.

WSC has also faced St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth in conference play, taking one of three NSIC games in both series, winning the fourth non-conference game against SCSU and falling in the fourth to UMD. 

Nate Cunningham is WSC's top bat, hitting .393/.450/.697 (35-89) with a 1.147 OPS and 13 extra-base hits with four doubles, four triples and five home runs. He's also swiped eight bases and leads Wildcats in runs (23) and RBIs (24). Cunningham is the reigning NSIC Player of the Week, hitting .600/.625/1.133 (9-15) in a three-game sweep of Minnesota Crookston, adding two home runs, a triple and 11 RBIs in the three games. 

Gabe Monosmith (5 2B, 3 HR) and Casey Prychak (2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR) are tied for second on the team in round-trippers. 

Braden Cannon continues to be a two-way threat, hitting .243/.407/.343 (17-70) with 11 runs, four doubles, a homer and 15 RBIs at the plate while pitching in relief nine times with a 1.93 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, a 2-1 record with five saves in 9.1 innings with five strikeouts. 

Jace Coleman bolsters the WSC bullpen with a 0.00 ERA and 0.65 WHIP in three appearances, picking up a win and a save in 7.2 innings, striking out 12 with just two walks and three hits allowed. 

Fun fact: Brooks Kneifl is the son of WSC head volleyball coach Scott Kneifl and also works his way into a two-way role. In six relief appearances, Kneifl has a 3.86 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 15 strikeouts in 11.2 innings. He hasn't fared as well at the plate in a challenging double-duty role, but has come up 33 times (4-33), scored and knocked in three runs and carries a 9-7 BB-SO ratio for a .318 OBP.