Nov. 26– Concordia University head baseball coach Mark "Lunch" McKenzie has announced the signings of Logan Bouts from Hopkins High School, Bryan Lippincott and Troy Dubay, both from Johnston High School in Des Moines, Iowa.

"All three of these kids are blue collar, pick up your lunch bucket and go to work type of players," said McKenzie of his early recruiting class for 2009. "They all are successful in the classroom as well as on and off the field. Logan, Bryan and Troy play in good programs and are well-coached. We are all excited to have people and players of their class and character as a part of our baseball program."

Bouts, a three-time letter winner, helped the Royals to conference championships in 2006 and 2007, going a perfect 8-0 during conference play in the 2006 season. He was named all-conference and a Star Tribune Athlete of the Week during the 2007 season. Bouts has been playing under former CU assistant coach Neil Lerner at Hopkins.

"He converted from third base to right field because of his strong throwing arm and hits for average and power. We are excited to have Logan as a Golden Bear," commented McKenzie. "We are looking forward to following his senior year at Hopkins High School. Logan has a chance to contribute as a freshman at CU. He is a solid individual and will be a great addition to the Concordia-St. Paul baseball family."

McKenzie commented on signing two players from Iowa, "Bryan and Troy both come from Johnston High School and play for Coach Randy Wee. We also have a player on our roster from Johnston this year, Brenden Furrow."

Lippincott is another three-time letterwinner on the diamond and has helped Johnston set a school record for wins as well as the national record for triples by a team. He was a second team all-conference and all-district selection and won the coaches gold glove during his junior season. He is an academic all-conference selection and earned an academic letter four years.

McKenzie continued, "Bryan has a chance to fill a void in the infield that will be left with the graduation of current seniors Jake Waldman, Derek Mason and Joe Abellera. Bryan is a 6.7 runner that hits from the left side and is an excellent defensive shortstop. He is also a straight-A student."

"Troy is a three sport athlete that can catch, play infield and outfield and he is the closer on his high school team. Troy brings a lot to the table: he can run, hit, field and throw. He is an intense player that plans on succeeding. The fact that Troy is versatile will give him a great opportunity to crack the lineup as a freshman in some capacity," Lunch said of Dubay.

The three early signees will join a Golden Bear team that has set or tied the school wins record three years in a row, going 88-37-1 in that span. Last year, the 2007 CU baseball team set the record of 30 wins, finishing 30-13 overall and 15-7 in the Northern Sun.