Cobber Baseball History

First Year of Baseball: 1920
All-Time Record: 303-374 (73 seasons) (Missing records for 1968, 1973, 1974, 1975)
All-Time MIAC Record: 443-312
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
2008 Record: 18-14
Home: 4-6
Away: 8-4
Neutral: 6-4
2008 MIAC Record: 10-10 (T6th Place)
Home: 3-6
Away: 7-4

2009 COBBER BASEBALL SEASON PREVIEW

Concordia head coach Bucky Burgau has been eagerly anticipating the 2009 season for the past 24 months. The reason for Burgau’s optimism is a group of seniors led by an All-American candidate and a pitching staff that is the deepest it has been in several years. Burgau will be hoping that the experience, potentially explosive offense and the deep pitching will bring the Cobbers back to the MIAC playoffs for the first time since the 2005 season.

Concordia has a pair of returning All-Region players. Senior catcher Kyle Johnson (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) and junior pitcher Adam Johnson (Pelican Rapids, Minn.) were named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest Region Team last season. Both players had tremendous seasons in 2008 and will need to duplicate their success in order for the Cobbers to reach their goals. Kyle Johnson led the team in hitting for the second straight season with a career-high .450 average. He also led the MIAC in hitting (.507), slugging percentage (.881), RBI's (24), home runs (5) and total bases (59).

Adam Johnson led the team in ERA (2.43) and was tied for the team lead in wins (5). He appeared in 10 games in 2008 and made a team-high seven starts on the year. He was credited with the win in the Cobbers' upset victory over NCAA Division I NDSU on Apr. 29. Johnson was 3-1 in MIAC play and gave up only five earned runs in 20.1 innings of work. He was second in the MIAC in ERA in conference games (2.21) and led the conference in opponent's batting average (.151).

The Cobbers will be far from a two-man gang as they return seven starting players from last year’s squad that finished the year by winning four straight games. Junior Jake Krause (Moorhead, Minn.) will be the team’s leadoff hitter and starting shortstop. He hit .301 and led the team in steals. Joining Krause and Kyle Johnson at the top of the order should be Nick Lewis (Jr., Fergus Falls, Minn.), Dan Wackler (So., Buffalo, Minn.) and Scott Schumacher (Sr., Thompson, N.D.). Schumacher hit .402 last season while Lewis knocked out a .394 average.

On the mound Adam Johnson will have plenty of help. All five of the Cobber pitchers that started at least five games last season return for the 2009 campaign. Schumacher pulls double duty and was second on the team in ERA with a 2.88 mark. He was 5-1 last year and allowed only 11 walks in 34.1 innings pitched. Joining Johnson and Schumacher in the starting rotation will be Andrew Skow-Anderson (So., Pelican Rapids, Minn.), Eddie Massee (Jr., Appleton, Minn./Lac Qui Parle Valley HS) and Jake Torrison (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS).

The bullpen will also have a wealth of returning players. All told, the Cobbers have 10 of the 11 pitchers that posted stats in 2008 back for 2009. The relief corps will feature hard-throwing senior Nick Petro (Alexandria, Minn.) who led the team in saves in 2008 and struck out 16 in 16.2 innings of work.

If all the pieces fall into place for the 2009 Cobber baseball team then a return to the playoffs and a shot at a top three league finish is well within their reach.

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 (8)
2. St. Olaf (3)
3. Gustavus
4. Hamline
5. Concordia
6. Saint John's
7. Augsburg
8. Bethel
9. Macalester
10. Carleton
11. Saint Mary's