ST. PAUL, Minn. - The brackets have been set and the Golden Bears are ready to enter the NSIC Tournament on Friday. As the #6 seed, Concordia has drawn a 10:00 am meeting with Winona State, ranked #9 in the nation and the third seed in the tournament. Regardless of the first game outcome, CU will play again at 2:00 pm. The 2009 conference tournament is being hosted by top seed Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, Minn. COMPLETE BRACKET - LIVE STATS - COMPLETE RELEASE
** Concordia's SID will provide live stats for their games this weekend. In-game photos will also be taken, so live stats will be updated as often as possible.
The Golden Bears met up with the Warriors on the diamond just two weeks ago, drawing a split in the home doubleheader with scores of 3-6 and 4-2. They mounted a late comeback run in the first game, putting up three runs in the sixth inning. Pitcher Stacey Struzynski worked out of the inning and sent Concordia down in order in their final round of at-bats to seal the 6-3 win, striking out seven in the game. The Golden Bears jumped out early with a first inning run in the second game. They once again had a strong sixth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie with three runs from five hits in the frame, all three RBI being driven in on two outs.
Winona State offers up a tandem of solid hitting and strong pitching. The Warriors lead the NSIC and are sixth in the nation with a .351 team batting average and have a season ERA of 2.31. The league's top three hitting athletes belong to the purple and white, with Terra Halron hitting .444 on the season, followed by Amanda Wilhelm with a .430 mark and Kayla Lewis with a .416 average. Pitcher Stacey Struzynski is the likely starting pitcher for the first game of the tournament. She is second in the NSIC with a 1.56 ERA and is eighth in the nation with 10.6 strikeouts per seven innings.
The Golden Bears have hit .315 through the NSIC season and have a program high .306 season batting average. They have the ability to attack both with big hits and to score runs by playing small ball. The team leads the NSIC with 19 triples on the year and has also put up 71 doubles and 26 home runs. Jamie Lindboe is tied with a team high .362 batting average and leads the NSIC (16th in NCAA) with 7 triples. Anna Bjorlin has been streaking toward the postseason, improving her average to match Lindboe's at .362 and currently leading the team with 63 hits. She has swung for 11 doubles on the year.
Concordia has been an NSIC leader for stolen bases all season, 83 on the year while allowing opponents only 29. They have the league's top three base stealers in Natalie Mast (20), Katie Anderson (19) and Bjorlin (17). Anderson has gotten on base with a plethora of infield singles, using her bunting skills for 24 hits. She has not been caught on the base paths yet this season (19-19).
Stephanie Schmikla has shored up the Concordia pitching effort, throwing 194.2 innings and gaining 18 wins on the year. She will not strike out a lot of batters, but instead uses a solid defense to get out of innings. Cassye McMahon will also see action from the circle. She has a team best 2.40 ERA with 122.2 innings pitched. Jenn Kaminski has made her case from the rubber in recent games, seeing many more innings of work in the past few weeks and giving the team a viable option in relief.
