After 52 games and countless hours of hard work on the practice field and in the weight room, the 2010 baseball season is over for the Concordia University Golden Bears. We finished 23-29 overall, 15-16 in the NSIC. We played a game on every day of the week going:

0-2 on Mondays

0-3 on Tuesdays

4-8 on Wednesdays

4-3 on Thursdays

0-1 on Fridays

7-6 on Saturdays

8-6 on Sundays

We played teams representing nine different states:

Iowa 1-1

Indiana 0-1

Kansas 1-1

Minnesota 13-16

Michigan 0-1

Nebraska 3-3

South Dakota 3-5

Wisconsin 1-1

West Virginia 1-0

We went 7-10 in one run games, but 5-2 in games that were decided by a walk-off.

We had 19 players combine for 1664 at bats, 15 players and 1250 at bats of experience will return next year with a solid nucleus of .300 hitters coming back in Bryan Lippincott (Des Moines, IA) .410, Jon Stockton (Oakdale, MN) .348, J.T. Schneider (Oak Creek, WI) .319, Troy DuBay (Urbandale, IA) .307, and Logan Bouts (Hopkins, MN) .302 all returning to the lineup.

We had 12 pitchers account for 384.2 innings, and every one of them is coming back.

While we were disappointed with the outcome of the season, and not making it to the conference tournament, we saw many great things from the year. So many people got valuable experience that will go along way over the next couple years as we try and build into a championship caliber team. The 2010 season saw a run through the record books like never before. Brenden Furrow (Johnston, IA) etched his name into the top of every major Concordia offensive record. He now owns:

Career Games Played: 183

Career At Bats: 663

Career Hits: 262

Career Runs Scored: 154

Career RBIs: 186

Career Homeruns: 36

Career Doubles: 55

Single Season RBIs: 70

Single Season Homeruns: 18

Furrow and Bryan Lippincott tied on two more school records:

Single Season At Bats: 205

Single Season Hits: 84

The season didn’t end the way we had hoped, but it was still a great year. Brenden Furrow, Blake DeVries (Eden Prairie, MN), Steven King (Johnston, IA), and Ryan Iverson (Spring Lake Park, MN) will all be missed. Blake is one of the more intriguing stories in Concordia baseball history. Throughout his freshman and sophomore years Blake was one of the top pitching prospects in all of the upper Midwest. Even at a smaller division two school Blake was still projected to go as high as the fifth round of the major league baseball draft. Just a couple games into his junior year Blake suffered what would be a career ending elbow injury. Blake would never throw another pitch at Concordia, but dedicated to his team and baseball he redefined himself as a power hitter. Blake smashed a school record 17 homeruns this season, only to have that broken by Furrow. DeVries hit .335 for the season, and over .400 in league play. Call it CU’s version of the natural, but Blake made a major difference in the Golden Bear lineup this season. Steven King and Ryan Iverson both spent their CU careers as role players after transferring from different schools. King will continue his academic career at CU next fall as he finishes up his athletic eligibility handling the kicking duties on the Golden Bear football team.

Thank you to all the seniors, Brenden, Blake, Steven, and Ryan.

Furrow was named First–Team All-NSIC at first base, DeVries was named Second-Team All-NSIC in the outfield, and Lippincott was named Second-Team All-NSIC at shortstop. Lippincott and DeVries were also named to the Academic All-District second and third teams respectively.

Work starts for next year already as we move forward into summer ball. People will be travelling to different places to play ball in the summer. Many people will be playing in the competitive amateur league in Minnesota on some of the best teams. A couple players have aspirations of catching on with a team in the premiere Northwoods league, and I, myself will be heading to Honolulu, HI to play for seven weeks in the Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League against some of the best players in the country. Hopefully we can all improve over the summer and come back next fall rejuvenated and ready to dedicate ourselves to Concordia baseball and our dreams of conference, regional, and national championships. With such a large core of returning players we should be in a great position to surprise some people next year.

In-Season Notes:

Next Game: CU Alumni Game (Barnes Field), Saturday, October 2nd, 2010, 10:30am

2010 Overall Team Record: 23-29

2010 Central Region Record: 19-23

2010 Conference Record: 15-16

Conference Standing: 8^th (Final Standings)

If any readers have any feedback or questions that they would like answered please feel free to email SID@csp.edu, and I will answer them in future blogs or through email if they are better suited to be answered that way. Personal thoughts from readers are always appreciated.

-Go Golden Bears-

It has been over a week since my last blog post, my longest break of the season. Following last Wednesday’s games at the Minnesota State-Mankato I had to leave the team for two days to attend a funeral in my hometown of Aurora, CO. Coach McKenzie talks to us all the time about how college baseball is never “just baseball,” that there are always outside factors effecting us. Whether it is school, injuries, or outside factors like having to attend a funeral, there is always something in the way for college athletes. It is how we overcome those things that define who we are as a player, and that is a message that Coach always instills in us.

Our season has taken some major twists and turns since my last post. We were riding high on our way to Mankato last week, and we carried that in to our twin-bill with the Mavericks. In game one we came out with the bats blazing with freshman J.T. Schneider (Oak Creek, WI) hitting a homerun in the top of the first, and fellow freshman Hogan Jackson (Oakdale, MN) following up with a solo shot of his own in the top of the second. In the third inning Sam Fagely (Mahtomedi, MN) lifted a two-run bomb, and Brenden Furrow (Johnston, IA) drilled a three-run homer. The bats were rolling, and CU pitchers Ryan Rodeck (Lino Lakes, MN) and Patrick Rydeen (Stillwater, MN) combined to keep the Mav’s bats at bay. In the game Schneider extended his hit streak to 20 games, the second longest in school history behind a 21 game hit streak that Furrow had during his career. Jon Stockton (Oakdale, MN) and Logan Bouts (Hopkins, MN) slugged out three hit games as the Golden Bears rolled to a 17 to 7 victory over the #25 ranked MSU Mavs.

Game two was a different story as Hogan Jackson made his second start in as many weeks. The Mavs got on Jackson early putting up four runs in the first and adding another on a solo homerun in the second. Jackson would eventually settle in, and fellow freshman Griff Kilber (Chanhassen, MN) would come in and allow just one run over the final two and one-third innings, but the deficit would prove to be too much. Furrow and Bouts each went 2 for 4 including Furrow smashing a monster homerun in the fifth inning, his 12^th of the season, Game two also saw Schneider’s hit streak come to an end with an 0 for 3 ball game. But a split on the road against a top-25 national team was definitely a success, and we hoped to carry that into the weekend as we hosted Bemidji State in a four-game weekend series.

After the mid-week set we were 19-23 overall (11-10 in the NSIC).

Game One vs. BSU: CU20 BSU 8 (7 innings)

Ben Lemke went five innings to pick up his fourth victory of the season.

Furrow and Blake DeVries (Eden Prairie, MN) each went deep hitting their 13^th and single-season record 15^th homeruns respectively.

Game Two vs. BSU: CU 4 BSU 3 (8 innings)

Chris Peterson (St. Anthony, MN) delivered another great performance in the #2 starter role going seven innings allowing just three runs on five hits.

Nick Anderson (Plymouth, MN) threw the extra frame picking up the victory improving to (6-5) on the year.

Bryan Lippincott (Des Moines, IA) lead the offensive charge going 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, and scoring the walk-off run in the eighth on a throwing error on a ground ball by Schneider sailed into right field.

Game Three vs. BSU: CU 12 BSU 9

Lippincott went 3 for 4 with his eighth homerun of the season during a wild second inning that saw CU plate nine runs and go ahead for good. The rally came in response to a four-run first by the Beavers. Scneider, Furrow, DeVries, S. Fagely, and Stockton all had two-hit games behind a solid pitching performance.

Andy Fagely (Mahtomedi, MN) went seven and two-thirds on the mound getting his 5^th victory and Nick Anderson closed the door in the final inning and a third to get his sixth save.

Game Four vs. BSU: CU 3 BSU 4

Nick Anderson took the ball in game four for the second consecutive week. The start would be Anderson’s third appearance of the weekend, 24^th of the season. Anderson would go the distance, but get hit with the loss when BSU rallied for two runs off of him in the top of the seventh.

In the bottom of the seventh down two runs Lippincott smashed his second homerun of the afternoon to bring the deficit to one, but the rally would end there as the Beavers completed the victory and kept the Golden Bears from picking up a second straight weekend sweep at Bob Barnes Field.

The loss left the Bears with an overall record of 22-24 (14-11 in the NSIC). We took that into another mid-week set with MSU-Mankato, but this time at home.

Game One vs. MSU: CU 6 MSU 16 (8 innings)

Mankato pounded out 22 hits for 16 runs, while keeping the CU bats largely in check.

Brenden Furrow hit his 14^th, 15^th, and 16^th homerun of the season, the first three homer game of the year. Furrow broke two records with his final swing. His 16^th homerun broke teammate Blake DeVries’ record of 15 homeruns in a season set against Bemidji the previous weekend, the two will battle it out for that record in our final series of the year at Winona State. The monumental blast was also his 34^th of his career breaking the career homerun record previously held by Matt Borman (2003-04, 07). Furrow now owns every offensive career record at CU. Games played, at-bats, hits, doubles, RBI’s, and homeruns.

Game Two vs. MSU: CU 2 MSU 17

Mankato compiled 26 hits to account for 17 runs.

Blake DeVries had the lone multi-hit performance for CU as MSU pitching was held to just six hits and two runs.

It was a rough day to be a Golden Bear, but there were some bright spots. Furrow ended his career at Bob Barnes Field with his record breaking performance, and DeVries also went out on a high note. CU didn’t compound errors to beat themselves as they have all year. MSU simply just put the bat on the ball and drilled it to the right places. The losses virtually eliminate us from postseason contention with just four games to play at #23 Winona State. It would take a series of amazing events to get us in to the tournament, all we can do is go out and play hard and let the chips fall as they may.

During the Bemidji series we honored our four seniors as they conclude their careers. Furrow, DeVries, as well as Steven King (Urbandale, IA), and Ryan Iverson (Spring Lake Park, MN) all were honored with pictures and cheers from fans.

This weekend we head to Winona, MN to play the NSIC leading Winona State Warriors. The Warriors are ranked as high as #23 in some national polls. Last year in a similar situation CU took 3 of 4 from WSU to knock them out of the regional. We will continue to run our best pitchers and lineups out there this weekend and compete to the best of our ability. Furrow and DeVries will play their final four games in the CU blue and gold, and settle the single-season homerun record race.

Spotlight Series: Jon Stockton

1. Name, High School and Mascot, College Major?

Jon Stockton, Tartan High school, Titans, Marketing

2. How did you get into baseball? (Please elaborate, tell a story if you chose)

Starting playing t-ball and just kept playing every year

3. Baseball Mentor(s)? (Please elaborate, tell a story if you chose)

The biggest influences on my baseball career were my youth coaches Doug Berfeldt and John Doran, and stayed involved throughout my whole career and are still there for me.

4. Most memorable baseball moment (Please tell the story)

Winning the NSIC conference tournament 2008

5. Favorite Historical Sports Moment and Why? (I.E. Kirby Puckett World Series Homerun, Cal-Stanford “The Play”, any sports play ever that is your favorite)

John Stockton’s 3-pointer against the Houston Rockets 1996 to send the Utah Jazz to their first NBA finals. Also, the Twins one game playoff victory over the Detroit Tigers.

6. Who are the best players you have ever played against? How old were you? How did you do against them? (If not a well know player please elaborate who they are and who they play for now)

Hockey- Jordan Schroeder from St Thomas Academy who was a 17^th overall pick in the NHL Draft and plays currently for the Minnesota Gophers.

Baseball- Nick Shumacher from Wayne State college who is now In single A with the San Diego Padres . I struck out in my pinch hit at bat against him

7. If you could play any other sport collegiately what would it be and why?

I miss both hockey and soccer, but I would chose hockey because I miss the speed of the game

8. What aspirations do you have for the future outside of baseball? (Please elaborate on why)

Not sure, hopefully use my degree to find a job I enjoy and become a homeowner

9. Have you overcome any major obstacles in your life?

Yes I have overcome a couple major obstacles in my life

10. Anything else you would like the readers to know about you, or shout outs to anyone important…

My mom for always supporting me in everything I do and being my biggest fan and believing in me. Also my father who supports me and is always there to help me out.

In-Season Notes:

Next Game: Winona State (Winona, MN), Double-header, Saturday, May 1^st, 2010, 1:00pm

Overall Team Record: 22-26

Central Region Record: 17-20

Conference Record: 14-13

Conference Standing: 8^th (Week of April 26th)

If any readers have any feedback or questions that they would like answered please feel free to email SID@csp.edu, and I will answer them in future blogs or through email if they are better suited to be answered that way. Personal thoughts from readers are always appreciated.

-Go Golden Bears-

The weekend against the University of Minnesota-Crookston was a successful one for the Golden Bears. Many parts of our game that have been struggling lately came through for us. Starting pitching has been up and down for us lately, with just one starter throwing more than four innings in the St. Cloud State series (Andy Fagely (Mahtomedi, MN) complete game victory). This weekend would be different for us. Fagely took the ball in game one and delivered five and a third innings of quality baseball in route to an 18 to 8 victory. Nick Anderson (Plymouth, MN) shut down the Golden Eagles in the final inning and two-thirds in his first appearance of the series. The relief appearance was Anderson’s 19^th on the season and he notched his fourth save of the year. Offensively for CU it was the men in the middle that came through again. Brenden Furrow (Johnston, IA) launched his 9^th and 10^th homeruns of the year, only to be out done by Blake DeVries (Eden Prairie, MN) who sent two baseballs of his own out of Bob Barnes Field. DeVries second homerun of the game, a three run shot to complete the ten-run rule was his 14^th of the season. That ties him for the Concordia single-season record for homeruns with Matt Borman (03-04, 07) who connected with 14 long balls in 2007. Furrow also tied a record in the game, the career record for most games played, his 168^th career game tying Dave Johnson (95-98).

In game two Chris Peterson (St. Anthony, MN) took that ball, and Furrow was in the lineup at first base locking up another career record. Peterson was the dominate pitcher we have seen time and time again delivering another quality start. He went the full seven innings scattering just four hits and allowing just two runs, only one of which was earned. The performance lowered Peterson’s ERA to 4.64, the best of the starting rotation. Furrow and shortstop Bryan Lippincott (Des Moines, IA) each put up 3 for 4 performances, and Jon Stockton (Oakdale, MN) hit his second homerun of the season in the bottom of the sixth to tally up the final score of 13 to 2.

On Sunday CU came out with the same intensity to take care of business. We were in position to win and even possibly sweep our first weekend series of the year. Ben Lemke (Rosemount, MN) took the ball in game three for his team leading 10^th start of the season. Lemke went six innings allowing three runs on six hits while striking out eight Golden Eagle hitters. Ty Hall (Spring Lake Park, MN) made his sixth appearance throwing a scoreless seventh after getting in trouble early and inducing a 5-4-3 double play to get out of a jam. Nick Anderson made his 20^th appearance of the season to get the final six outs, six up-six down. Five CU hitters had multi-hit performances in the game, including Stockton who drove his third homerun of the season over the right centerfield fence.

Game four sent Nick Anderson back out to the mound for his third appearance of the weekend and 21^st overall. Anderson stumped the Golden Eagle hitters the way he had all weekend with a complete game performance surrendering just one run. On the weekend Anderson had two save and a complete game victory. He logged 10 and 2/3rds innings giving up just the one run while striking out 10. For his efforts Anderson was named the NSIC pitcher of the week. On offense Furrow, Freshman J. T. Schneider (Oak Creek, WI), and Sophomore Troy DuBay (Urbandale, IA) all had two hit games. CU worked Golden Eagle pitching for nine runs and clearly that was all the Anderson needed.

The game four victory by Anderson completed the weekend sweep of UMC. It was CU’s 8^th victory in the last nine games. The weekend saw many milestones. Furrow captured his sixth record, DeVries tied the homerun record with 12 games to play, and Schneider extended his team best hitting streak to 19 games.

Today we travel to Mankato, MN for a pivotal mid-week double-header with Minnesota State-Mankato. The Mavericks had a bye week this weekend so the 27-9 (16-4 in NSIC, 2^nd) team should be rested and will provide a tough test to our hot streak. Conference play has been good to us with Bryan Lippincott being in the top 5 in most major categories, including second in batting average hitting .488 in conference. All eight starters are hitting over .300 in conference play, and Lippincott, Stockton, Furrow, DeVries, and Schneider are all over .400 against NSIC opponents. Pitching has been exceptional as of late against the NSIC teams. Hogan Jackson (Oakdale, MN) is 2-0 in conference play, and will get the ball in one of the games against MSU-Mankato today. CU heads south with a new and improved 18-22 record (10-9 in NSIC), and sits in 8^th place in the standings just .5 game back of Augustana, and 1.5 games back of Minnesota-Duluth and that sixth and final place in the NSIC tournament. These next two weeks will decide the postseason fates of all the bubble teams, and a successful day in Mankato would go a long way in propelling us up the standings.

In-Season Notes:

Next Game: Minnesota State University-Mankato (Mankato, MN), Double-header, Wednesday, April 21^st, 2010, 1:30pm

Overall Team Record: 18-22

Central Region Record: 13-16

Conference Record: 10-9

Conference Standing: 8^th (Week of April 19th)

If any readers have any feedback or questions that they would like answered please feel free to email SID@csp.edu, and I will answer them in future blogs or through email if they are better suited to be answered that way. Personal thoughts from readers are always appreciated.

-Go Golden Bears-

This weekend brings the University of Minnesota-Crookston into St. Paul, MN and our very own Bob Barnes Field. UMC brings in a (3-32) record and (0-20) NSIC record. The host Bears are coming off a mid-week double-header sweep of Northern State University at home and have improved their record to (14-22) and a (6-9) NSIC record. CU is riding a recent wave of success having won four of the last five contests, and carry in a 23 game win streak against Minnesota-Crookston.

Last Time Out:

The last time the Bears took the field was last Wednesday against Northern State University at home, taking both ends of a mid-week twin bill. Nick Anderson (Plymouth, MN) made his 18^th appearance of the season coming out of the bullpen for the last two innings and picking up the win. The win improved Anderson to (4-5) on the season. On the offensive side Bryan Lippincott (Des Moines, IA), Brenden Furrow (Johnston, IA), and Logan Bouts (Hopkins, MN) all notched three-hit performances. Furrow drove in four runs during the game, three on one massive swing blasting his eighth homer of the season, and in the process broke the Concordia University career RBI record. After the double-header Furrow had 155 RBI’s, snapping Erik Quarberg’s (03-06) previous record of 150. J.T. Schneider (Oak Creek, WI) and Jon Stockton (Oakdale, MN) both hit safely to extend their current hit streaks. The final tally of game one was a 10 to 9 victory for CU, Schneider singled to right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off victory.

In game two freshman Hogan Jackson (Oakdale, MN) made his first collegiate start in the mound. Jackson was solid through five innings, scattering seven hits and allowing just three runs. Ty Hall (Spring Lake Park, MN) tossed the final two frames out of the bullpen. Hogan put the handcuffs on NSU hitters all day while the CU bats heated up. Blake DeVries (Eden Prairie, MN) smashed his 12^th homerun of the season. DeVries is now just two short of the single-season record held by Matt Borman (03-04, 07). Once again in the night-cap J.T. Schneider and Jon Stockton both hit safely to extend their hitting streaks to 15 and 9 games respectively. Jackson logged his second win of the season and lowered his team leading ERA to 3.95.

What to Expect from the Weekend:

This weekend is the third NSIC four-game weekend series at Bob Barnes Field this year. Minnesota-Crookston comes in to town. The Golden Bears will shake up the rotation this weekend for the first time in conference play. In past weekend series the rotation has gone Ben Lemke (Rosemount, MN), Chris Peterson (St. Anthony, MN), Andy Fagely (Mahtomedi, MN), and Griff Kilber (Chanhassen, MN). But with Lemke getting a rare mid-week start this week, Andy Fagely will get the nod in game one. Fagely delivered one of the best performances of the year last weekend at 13^th ranked St. Cloud State when he tossed a complete game victory. Fagely will be followed in game two by Peterson who has been outstanding all season with a 2-1 record including a dominating performance in the Wayne State series. Sunday is still up for debate as Lemke is questionable having thrown on Wednesday and a fourth starter is yet to be determined. Ryan Rodeck (Lino Lakes, MN) having thrown well out of the bullpen recently could be in line to make a start against the UMC Golden Eagles.

Offensively expected some power numbers from the weekend as balls have been flying out of Bob Barnes field this year with double digit homeruns in each of the previous two weekend series held there. Opponents have sent 39 balls over the fence this year, while the Bears have drilled 37 long balls, 27 of those coming from DeVries, 12, Furrow, 8, and Lippincott, 7. J.T. Schneider will put his 15 game hit-streak on the line Saturday and Jon Stockton will try to extend his current 9 game streak.

Making a Run at the Tournament:

After a shaky start to the year, especially in NSIC play the Golden Bears have begun to turn things around. After beginning the conference season 1-7, CU has won 5 of their last 7 games. With 16 games left to play we sit just 2.5 games back of 6^th place and the final NSIC tournament entry spot. If you make it to the tournament anything is possible. With series against Crookston, #27 Minnesota State Mankato, Bemidji state, and #23 Winona State standing between us and the post season it is going to take a full team effort every day. Anything is possible when we play as a team. Hopefully we can ride our current wave of success into a big win streak and with a little luck into the tournament.

Random In-Season Facts:

CU plays best on Thursday’s having a (4-3) record on that day of the week.

CU seems to be a morning team currently (5-2) in games starting before noon.

CU is (6-9) in one-run contests, 15 of our 36 games have been one-run games, that is 42% of games.

Brenden Furrow has broken five CU career offensive records this season, and if he plays in both games on Saturday will break the record for most games played.

Furrow’s list of career records:

Career At-Bats: 597

Career Hits: 231

Career Runs: 137

Career RBI’s: 155

Career Doubles: 47

Currently 2^nd in Career games played: 167 (leader Dave Johnson (95-98) with 168)

In-Season Notes:

Next Game: University of Minnesota-Crookston (Barnes Field), Double-header, Saturday, April 17^th, 2010, 1:00pm

Overall Team Record: 14-22

Central Region Record: 10-16

Conference Record: 6-9

Conference Standing: 9^th (Week of April 12th)

If any readers have any feedback or questions that they would like answered please feel free to email SID@csp.edu, and I will answer them in future blogs or through email if they are better suited to be answered that way. Personal thoughts from readers are always appreciated.

-Go Golden Bears-

What do you do when you reach rock bottom? After splitting a mid-week double-header in Aberdeen, SD against Northern State we had officially reached rock bottom. Not to say that losing to Northern State is bottom, but it was the way we played. We booted routine ground balls, we dropped pop-ups, and we didn’t pitch with conviction. Just about the only positives were the 38 runs we scored in the twin bill. We were playing the game as individuals, and not as a team.

We took a couple days of soul searching and practice, and then packed our bags to head west. This time we travelled just 75 miles to the campus of St. Cloud State University. We had a weekend NSIC four-game series with the Huskies. The Huskies came in ranked as high as 13^th in some national polls, and 2^nd in the Central Region. They carried in a 24-5 record, with a league leading 11-1 NSIC record. They were confident, as they should be. Their starting rotation carried a 23-3 record, while our team record stood at just 10-20. We had to face the top dogs of the NSIC Saturday and Sunday.

There was a different feeling throughout the team on Saturday as we stretched out and prepared for the days games. We were not looking for the individual statistics or personal accolades, but finding away to win baseball games, as a team.

St. Cloud State came out hot and chased CU starter Ben Lemke (Rosemount, MN) after three innings. The Huskies stormed out to a 9 to 3 lead, and tacked on 4 more in the 5^th off reliever Zach Goodwin (Mahtomedi, MN), all four were unearned. Down 13 to 6 in the sixth inning we desperately needed to save pitching for the remaining. Coach McKenzie called upon myself, Cody Wilcoxson (Aurora, CO) to record the final nine outs and not only keep us in this game, but give ourselves a chance to set up our pitching staff for the remaining three games. I threw the final three frames allowing three runs on six hits. Our bats came alive in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth as they have all year, but it wasn’t quite enough and the final tally ended up 16 to 10 in favor of SCSU. It might be another loss, but we were starting to come together as a team, and have people fill much needed roles. Goodwin’s two innings and my three innings would become more and more important as the weekend went on.

Game two was a similar script early. Hot Husky bats chased CU starter Chris Peterson (St. Anthony, MN) in the second inning with a 5 to 1 lead. Coach again called on a young reliever, this time Hogan Jackson (Oakdale, MN). Hogan was outstanding holding the SCSU bats quiet for 2 and 2/3 innings of play. While Hogan silenced the Husky bats, the CU bats came alive. We scratched our way back to a 7 to 5 lead on stellar hitting performances by Senior Brenden Furrow (Johnston, IA) 2 for 4, Junior John Stockton (Oakdale, MN) 2 for 4, and Junior Blake DeVries (Eden Prairie, MN) who went 3 for 3 with 5 RBI’s and 2 clutch homeruns. Reliever Nick Anderson (Plymouth, MN) notched his team leading third save of the season by recording the final nine outs of the game. At the end of the game after everyone had filled their role and given us our best chance of winning. When it was all said and done the TEAM had won 8 to 7.

We were all excited to have won the game, and our coaches were even more excited the way we had done it, as a team, with people filling roles rather than carrying the weight of the team on their shoulders. We still had two more games on Sunday to play, and we needed to come out with the same intensity that we had in Saturday’s games.

Sunday sent Concordia starter Andy Fagely (Mahtomedi, MN) to the mound at beautiful Putz Field in St. Cloud, MN. Fagely delivered the performance of the year in conference play. St. Cloud State took a 3 to 2 lead in the bottom of the eighth when Jordan Smith (Willmar, MN) connected with an opposite field two-run homer. We had lead all game but we found ourselves down to our final three outs. Brenden Furrow who has been one of our offensive leaders all season lead off the ninth with an infield single, a hustle play from a veteran. Then Logan Bouts (Hopkins, MN) a hitter who has had his ups and downs all season delivered a clutch single over the second baseman’s glove. Then Blake DeVries stepped to the plate. In one of the biggest moments of the season DeVries connected with a line drive that soared past the centerfield fence to give the Golden Bears a 5 to 3 lead. With the lead back and still needing to retire SCSU in the ninth there was a decision to be made, but Andy Fagely solved it. He wanted the ball in the ninth and the coaches gave it to him. It was his game and he deserved to finish it. With the entire bench on the top step of the dugout Fagely induced two ground balls, and then struck out the final SCSU hitter to end his complete game gem in style. Fagely scattered six hits over the nine innings while striking out seven Husky hitters. It was the pitching performance we desperately needed, but it wasn’t all individual. He was backed by stellar defense, one of our first error-less games of the season. Not to mention DeVries’ two homeruns and a 3 for 4 performance by Bouts. All 25 guys were involved in every pitch of the game. It was a great victory for our team.

We still had one more game to go in the series, and we had ourselves in a position to win our first NSIC series of the year. Taking 3 of 4 from St. Cloud State would be huge. We sent freshman lefty Griff Kilber (Chanhassen, MN) to the mound. For the third time in the series SCSU chased our starter early with Kilber leaving with a runner on first and no outs in the third inning. Junior Ryan Rodeck (Lino Lakes, MN) came in and delivered a great relief performance. As we had all weekend we used good pitching and defense to hold SCSU after their hot start, and timely hitting to chip away. After a two-run fifth inning the game was locked up at 5 to 5. The score stayed that way into extra innings. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth sophomore Joey Benke (Roseau, MN) came to the plate against Concordia reliever Nick Anderson. Benke took an awkward swing at an outside fastball, but it caught the large part of the bat and cleared the left field fence for a walk-off homerun. It was Benke’s second extra inning walk-off homerun of the year against CU, as he had the same feat in the Metrodome earlier this season. The loss was a crushing one, but again we played as a team. The loss stings and it gave us a series split. But a lot more good came out of the weekend than bad, and that idea was echoed by the coaches in our post game meetings. We played hard, and the weekend should give us the confidence to know that we can play with even the top teams of the NSIC. We left St. Cloud with a 12-22 record (4-9 in conference), but we left as a team rather than a group of individuals.

If we can keep the momentum and confidence we gained this weekend rolling, it should be fun to watch us play over our remaining 18 conference games. We have two more with Northern State at home this Wednesday, followed by a home weekend four-game series against the University of Minnesota-Crookston. If we can pitch, field, and swing the bats the way we are capable we have a chance to climb the standings and make a run for the conference tournament.

Blake DeVries was named the NSIC player of the week for his performance against Northern State and St. Cloud State this week. DeVries went 11 for 22 at the plate this week knocking in 13 runs including six homeruns. He had two multi-homer games against St. Cloud State. Blake now has 11 long balls on the year.

Golden Bear Homerun Race:

DeVries, 11

Furrow, 7

Lippincott, 7

3 players tied, 2

4 players tied, 1

In-Season Notes:

Next Game: Northern State (Barnes Field), Double-header, Wednesday, April 14^th, 2010, 2:00pm

Overall Team Record: 12-22

Central Region Record: 7-16

Conference Record: 4-9

Conference Standing: 9^th (Week of April 12th)

If any readers have any feedback or questions that they would like answered please feel free to email SID@csp.edu, and I will answer them in future blogs or through email if they are better suited to be answered that way. Personal thoughts from readers are always appreciated.

-Go Golden Bears-