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-