Concordia softball head coach, Bob Bartel, has announced that Natalie Mast and Anna Bjorlin will serve as team captains for the upcoming 2009 season. This is the first time that the Golden Bears have named team captains.
"We're naming captains this year to make the team more of their own and to allow the players more responsibility," said Bartel. "It means more for a teammate (captain) to get on you for something than a coach."
Senior center fielder Natalie Mast (Oakdale, Minn.) has played in nearly every game of the past three years. She has given the Golden Bears a consistent bat, swinging for a .284 career average. Her best offensive year came in 2008 as she went .299 at the plate with 47 hits and 33 runs scored. She led the NSIC and was eighth in the NCAA DII with 44 stolen bases last season. She was named to the 2008 All-NSIC First Team. In her career, Mast has swiped 80 of 91 bags, launching herself into the top spot for most career stolen bases at CU and more than doubling the next closest mark. Mast has more than 150 putouts in center field and has given up just 11 errors in her time with the Golden Bears.
Junior second baseman Anna Bjorlin (Hermantown, Minn.) will serve as the second team captain for Concordia in 2009. Bjorlin is a two-time All-NSIC team member who led the league in batting average (.481), slugging pct (.827), on-base pct (.550), triples (4) and total bases (43) in NSIC games played in 2008. She was second on the team with a .331 batting avg and played and started in every game last season. Bjorlin is second all-time at CU with a .354 career hitting mark (min. 150 AB) and leads the program with 10 career triples. For her work in the classroom, Bjorlin was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Third Team.
"Both Mast and Bjorlin exemplify what it means to play for Concordia. Mast is our lone senior and the last remaining member of the NCAA team (of 2006). She will pass on this experience and motivate the younger players. Bjorlin also works hard on and off the field. She has had two great years of production for us and is also very active on campus," explained Bartel.
The team will begin off-season work soon in preparation for the 2009 season. The Golden Bears tied for fourth in the NSIC last season, going 27-22 overall and 11-7 in league play.
