Cobber Baseball History

First Year of Baseball: 1920
All-Time Record: 285-360 (72 seasons) (Missing records for 1968, 1973, 1974, 1975)
All-Time MIAC Record: 433-302
Years in Postseason Play: 8

Last Postseason Appearance/Result
2005; L 6-9 vs. Augsburg (MIAC Tournament)
All-Time Postseason Record: 6-16
All-Time MIAC Playoff Tournament Record: 2-8
Years in MIAC Tournament/Streak: 4/0

Cobber Baseball Information
2006 Record: 11-23
Home: 7-3
Away: 2-9
Neutral: 2-11
2006 MIAC Record: 7-13 (8th Place)
Home: 7-3
Away: 0-8
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 20/7
Starters Returning/Lost: 6/7

2008 COBBER BASEBALL SEASON PREVIEW

Concordia head coach Bucky Burgau begins his 30th season at the helm for the Cobbers and the 2008 edition has a chance to be one of the most exciting in recent history. The elder statesmen in the MIAC, Burgau will need all of his coaching mettle as he will have a team that is long on youthful exuberance and talent and short on playoff-situation experience.

Last year the Cobbers’ were one of the youngest teams in the MIAC and their inexperience showed down the stretch. This season Burgau will be hoping that the experience gained in 2007 will lead to a return trip to the MIAC postseason. The Cobbers will have at least four starting freshmen or sophomores at the position spots and will have four starting pitchers that are in their first or second seasons of play. Despite the youthful appearance on the outside, Burgau remains optimistic as he cites that his squad is long on baseball knowledge and might be one of the most athletic teams in recent history.

Another reason for the upswing in hope is the undisputed leadership of junior catcher Kyle Johnson (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS). Johnson led the team in hitting, home runs, RBI’s, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and total bases in 2007. He finished with a .360 average and had a .540 slugging percentage. He was named to the MIAC All-Conference First Team last year and is one of the top returning players in the league. His leadership behind the dish will help the Cobbers’ young pitching corps. He will also be called upon to add the power to a CC lineup that will look to create more runs than in years past and will be a tough out from top to bottom.

Leading the field players will be senior outfielder Matt Youngquist (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park HS) and sophomore secondbaseman Jake Krause (Moorhead, Minn.). Youngquist is a three-year starter who hit a career-high .305 last year. He led the team in walks and was second in RBI’s last year and will be penciled into the No.3 spot in the batting order for most of the year. Krause will be the squad’s leadoff hitter and has outstanding range at shortstop. Last year he hit .297 and led the team in stolen bases and was second in walks. A year of experience will help Krause set the table at the top of the order and give CC a legitimate No.1 hitter. In the field he had a .921 fielding percentage and made several outstanding plays ranging to his left and right.

The rest of the infield will be littered with former shortstops. The third base duties will be headed by sophomore Tyler Doll (Perham, Minn.). The diminutive Doll played mostly at second base last year but his ability to cover ground and soft hands will give CC an outstanding left side of the infield in 2008. The right side of the infield will be the biggest question mark for Burgau. The Cobbers will need to replace three-year starter Scott Halupczok who was lost to graduation. Halupczok led the team in fielding percentage last year and was an outstanding defensive player who could corral any errant throws by the CC infield. Junior Scott Schumacher (Thompson, N.D.) will be the leading candidate to fill the spot. When not on the mound, Schumacher is one of the top hitters for Concordia. Last year he was limited in his at-bats because of his pitching duties but he has the ability to be one of the top hitters on the team and will be slotted into one of the top five spots in the batting order. The second base spot could be filled by freshman Dan Wackler (Buffalo, Minn.). Wackler is a slick-fielding athlete who will give Concordia an outstanding middle infield.

In the outfield, the Cobbers will have a pair of seniors and a newcomer. Youngquist will get the nod in left field, while fellow senior Drew Zimmerman (Fargo, N.D./Fargo South HS) will be the opening day starter in center field. Zimmerman saw limited playing time last year but will be aided by the regular spot in the lineup. The right field competition is being led by sophomore Freddy Weiss (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd HS). Weiss returns to the Cobbers after taking three years off after his freshman season in 2004. In his first year he showed power at the plate and an outstanding arm in the field. He was fifth on the team in slugging percentage in 2004 and had 10 total bases in 24 plate appearances. Besides Youngquist, Zimmerman and Weiss look for Brady Harms (So., Hawley, Minn.) and Michael Carlson (Fr., Sartell, Minn.) to also see time in the outfield.

On the mound, Burgau will have one of his deepest pitching staffs in recent years. He will have 5-6 legitimate starters and a wide variety of options coming out of the bullpen. The No.1 starting spot will be filled by Schumacher. Last year he was second on the team in innings pitched and wins. He will be helped by a full year on the mound and with concentrating solely on baseball after not going out for football in the fall. After Schumacher, CC could fill the next three spots with a trio of sophomores and freshmen. Eddie Massee (So., Appleton, Minn./Lac Qui Parle Valley HS) will have a chance to earn the No.2 spot. He started four games in his freshman season last year and improved with every start. He only let up four earned runs in his last two starts and went eight innings and struck out eight to earn his first collegiate win against Macalester. Andrew Skow-Anderson (Pelican Rapids, Minn.) and Jake Torrison (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS) are the top two freshmen starters that will be fighting for the No.3 and 4 spot on the staff. Both have outstanding high school resumes and the key will be how quickly they adjust to college hitters. One of the wild cards for the Cobber pitching staff will be freshman Phil Moenkedick (Perham, Minn.). Moenkedick was the top athlete on the Cobber wrestling team and will need to play catch up after participating in the NCAA Division III national Wrestling Meet. If he can get his arm up to speed by the start of April, he could give Burgau another solid left-handed starting option.

The relief corps will have a similar look as the starters as a single junior will be called upon to lead a group of sophomores and freshmen. Junior Nick Petro (Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson HS) and sophomores Chris Fellows (Ortonville, Minn.), Matt Green (Dilworth, Minn./D-G-F HS) and Adam Johnson (Pelican Rapids, Minn) all have experience from 2007 and all have shown glimpses of being able to stretch long relief appearances together. A pair of freshmen will be added to the relief mix. Randy Syrstad (Thompson, N.D.) and Zach Weller (Sauk Centre, Minn.) both have the raw talent to give the Cobbers innings in 2008.

If Burgau can get quality starts from his young pitching staff then the Cobbers have a chance to make a lot of noise in 2008. The team will get their first opportunity to shine at the end of March when they head to Arizona for a 10-game spring break trip. The trip to the southwest marks the first time Concordia has traveled to Arizona for their annual spring trek in the history of the program. A school-first season start could pave the way for the team’s fifth trip to the conference playoffs and first since the 2005 season.

St. Thomas and St. Olaf were MIAC regular season co-champs last season with the Tommies winning the playoff title.

Regular season MIAC Baseball begins on March 28 with the MIAC Playoffs running May 9-11.

Coaches voted for every team in the conference except their own team. Points were assigned for each vote (1 for first, 2 for second, etc.) Teams are ranked in order of lowest point total to highest with first place votes shown in parentheses.

MIAC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. St. Thomas (7)
2. St. Olaf (4)
3. Saint John's
4. Gustavus
5. Hamline
6. Augsburg
7. Concordia
8. Bethel
9. Macalester
10. Saint Mary's
11. Carleton