It’s a wrap: We detail the top moments and memories from the 2016-17 winter season gone by. The winter included GPAC championships for women’s basketball and wrestling, a national runner-up finish for men’s track and field and three individual national titles for the track program. Additionally, women’s basketball made a run to the national semifinals. For a complete wrap up on Concordia winter athletics, click HERE. A season wrap up for men’s basketball can be read HERE. Wrap ups for women’s basketball and wrestling will be coming soon.
Four Bulldog basketball players named All-Americans: Last week the NAIA released All-America teams for Division II basketball. On the men’s side, senior Chandler Folkerts was the program’s first player to be named to one of the three All-America teams since Jon Ziegler in 2007. Folkerts garnered second team accolades to top off his stellar career. For head coach Drew Olson’s GPAC championship team, freshman Philly Lammers earned second team All-America recognition and both junior Mary Janovich and sophomore Quinn Wragge were tabbed as honorable mention selections.
How to purchase Cultivating Men of Faith and Character: The book, Cultivating Men of Faith and Character: The History of Concordia Nebraska Football, remains available for purchase online HERE. For more than 90 years, the Concordia football program has cultivated men of faith and character. This journey through the program’s entire history takes a narrative, coach-by-coach approach in bringing back to life the memorable plays, players and moments in Bulldog football history. Win or lose, Christian character has guided a storied football tradition in Seward, home to the “college in the cornfield.”
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 6 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is in its second year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 6 p.m. CT on KTMX-FM 104.9 Max Country. The weekly feature can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the TuneIn Radio app and searching “Max Country.” Throughout the 2016-17 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country.
Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting http://www.cune.edu/csn at game time. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.
Baseball
- After a week off since the Tucson Invitational, Concordia made its home debut with a pair of games on March 17. The weekend yielded three wins in four games for the Bulldogs, who pummeled former GPAC rival Nebraska Wesleyan twice and upended the University of Jamestown (N.D.), 1-0, avenging a loss the previous day. Third-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad now stands at 11-7 overall. For more information on the Bulldog baseball program, click HERE.
- Though held to three hits in both of last week’s games against the Jimmies, Concordia feasted on Prairie Wolf pitching. In the two wins over Nebraska Wesleyan, the Bulldogs combined for 23 hits and also drew 15 walks and were hit by seven pitches. Concordia tallied 26 runs versus the Prairie Wolves and hit three home runs, two by senior third baseman Casey Berg.
- Berg has been hot at the top of the order. He’s reached base in 16 of 17 games played and has collected multiple hits in six of his last nine contests. Over those nine games, Berg has gone 16-for-34 (.471) with four home runs, two doubles, 10 runs scored and 10 RBIs. The native of Manning, Iowa, is enjoying his best collegiate season. He entered this year having hit just one home run in 70 career games as a Bulldog. So far he’s produced an impressive slash line of .375/.474/.609. Berg ranks second among all GPAC players in hits per game (1.41).
- Berg has been a catalyst for an offense that is averaging 8.3 runs per game while sporting a .307 batting average, .426 on-base percentage and .507 slugging percentage. Concordia leads the GPAC in runs per game and home runs per game (1.1). Among conference teams, the Bulldogs also rank second in stolen bases per game (1.4), second in doubles per game (2.2), second in slugging percentage, third in batting average and third in hits per game (9.4).
- The pitching staff got solid work out of a pair of freshmen last week. Both Wade Council and Jason Munsch were winning pitchers. Council scattered 11 hits in his seven-inning shutout of Jamestown, ranked No. 16 in the preseason. In the blanking of the Jimmies, the Bulldogs gunned down three runners at the plate. Council struck out six and walked only one hitter. Then on March 19, Munsch struck out nine in his five innings. He allowed four runs (three earned) on two hits and three walks.
- Catcher Ryan Fesmire has been somewhat of an unsung hero. Over his last four games, Fesmire is 6-for-13 with six RBIs, two runs and his first home run of the season. The native of Firestone, Colo., has also vastly improved his ability to throw out runners. Fesmire has cut down 5-of-13 attempted base stealers for a success rate of 38.5 percent. Fesmire is a career .286 hitter over his 108 games.
- Senior lefty Josh Prater has been the team’s most dependable option in the rotation. The Colorado Springs, Colo., native has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his four starts. Prater has fired 24.2 innings and owns a 2-1 record and 2.19 ERA. He’s allowed 25 hits and nine walks and has struck out eight. He fanned a season high eight hitters in his win last week over Nebraska Wesleyan. Prater owns a career 4.13 ERA over 139.1 innings.
- Concordia has eight players with at least 10 games played with batting averages north of .300. Among regulars, senior Jake Adams heads the list with a .400 average. While he’s hitting .231, Kaleb Geiger has provided the usual run production in the middle of the lineup. He’s got 10 extra base hits, including five doubles, four home runs and a triple. He tops the team with 18 RBIs and is one of three players to start all 18 games.
- This week’s slate will test the team’s pitching depth. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play a total of six games over a five-day stretch. That run begins today (March 21) at Friends University (Kan.) (16-10), where a doubleheader will get started at 2 p.m. CT. Concordia then open up conference play this weekend. It will host Northwestern (9-10) at 2 p.m. on Friday and then Dordt (7-10) at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Softball
- Due to postponements, the Bulldogs played only two games last week while making their return from the Tucson Invitational (March 5-10). Concordia opened up conference play by hosting Northwestern (13-10, 2-0 GPAC) on March 18. The Red Raiders spoiled the home-opening twin bill by sweeping the Bulldogs in contests decided by scores of 4-3 and 13-9. Fourth-year head coach Todd LaVelle’s squad now stands at 13-7 overall (0-2 GPAC). For more information on the Concordia softball program, click HERE.
- The Bulldogs got into a habit of splitting doubleheaders during the 2016 season. Out of 10 conference doubleheaders last year, eight resulted in splits. Only Dakota Wesleyan managed a twin bill sweep of Concordia in 2015. Under LaVelle’s direction, the Bulldogs have a combined GPAC regular-season record of 32-30. Concordia has had greater success in conference postseason play. Since LaVelle arrived, the program is 11-5 with one conference championship in GPAC tournament action.
- Senior Michaela Woodward mowed down Northwestern through the first four innings of the game 1 loss. She took a shutout into the fifth inning and was bidding for a third-straight appearance without allowing a run. The native of Cortland, Neb., went 22.1 innings without giving up an earned run before the Red Raiders pushed across their second run of the game in the sixth inning. Named GPAC pitcher of the week on March 14, Woodward is 5-5 with a 2.30 ERA over 61 innings this season.
- Concordia fell in game 2 despite a 13-hit outbreak in which five different Bulldogs collected multiple hits: Ronee Watson (3-for-4, run), Jamie Lefebure (2-for-3, two runs, one RBI), Autumn Owens (2-for-4, three RBIs), Megan Ruppert (2-for-4, two runs, four RBIs) and Woodward (2-for-4, run, RBI). Owens is tied with freshman Taryn Thomas for the team high for most multiple hit games. Both players have six multi-hit games.
- Owens collected her 100th career collegiate hit over the weekend. Her game took off last season as a sophomore. The native of Henderson, Nev., tied a school single-season record with nine home runs. She batted .392 and slugged .692 while driving in 45 runs. She’s been similarly productive this season, hitting .356 with team bests of four home runs and 18 RBIs. She enters the week having reached base in 15-straight games.
- Though Owens has been solid, Concordia is still waiting to catch fire as a collective offense. The 2016 Bulldogs batted .336, posted a .390 on-base percentage, slugged .493 and averaged 6.4 runs per game. This year’s squad has lagged behind those figures, currently hitting .302 with a .376 on-base percentage and a .418 slugging percentage, leading to 5.3 runs per game. Four regulars are hitting better than .340: Watson (.368), Ruppert (.357), Owens (.356) and Woodward (.345).
- Concordia owned leads in both ends of last week’s home doubleheader. The second game was a particularly unique game that saw the Bulldogs jump out to a 5-0 advantage that they carried into the fifth inning. That’s when the Red Raiders exploded for seven runs. Concordia showed resilience by retaking the lead in the bottom half on Ruppert’s three-run double. Northwestern responded with five runs in the sixth and held off the Bulldogs. All 17 of the Red Raider runs on the day came during the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.
- If the weather holds, Concordia will play three doubleheaders, two inside the conference, this week. The slate begins today (March 21) with a visit from Doane (15-11, 0-0 GPAC) at 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday. The Bulldogs will also host Nebraska Wesleyan (13-5) at 5 p.m. on Thursday. They will then head to Sioux City, Iowa, on Saturday for a 1 p.m. twin bill at Briar Cliff (7-14, 1-1 GPAC). Nonconference doubleheaders that were set for last week have been rescheduled for dates in April. The updated schedule can be viewed HERE.
Tennis
- Both tennis squads have been idle since beginning spring break in the state of Kansas. That journey ended on March 7 with matches at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan. Third-year head coach Joel Reckewey’s squads own records of 5-7 on the men’s side and 4-8 on the women’s side. For more on the Concordia tennis programs: MEN | WOMEN.
- The women have dominated during their still active three-match win streak, taking 23 of the 27 sets against the likes of Hesston College (Kan.), Friends University (Kan.) and Bethany. Junior Annie Horn has been a ringleader behind the team success. In singles play, she owns a personal win streak of five (four matches at No. 2 and one at No. 1). She has also teamed up with Kirsten Wagner for three-consecutive victories at No. 1 doubles. At 7-4 in singles, Horn tops the team in victories this season.
- Junior Katie Hertz has enjoyed similar success of late. The native of Billings, Mont., has won four singles matches in a row – all at the No. 4 position. During that run, she has not dropped a single set and has relinquished just 13 games. Hertz has pushed her season record to 5-6. She is 5-3 at the No. 4 singles spot.
- As a team, the women are 32-40 in singles action and 13-23 in doubles. In addition to team high win totals for Horn (7-4) and Hertz (5-6), four other Bulldogs have multiple singles victories: Kayla Smock (4-5), Wagner (3-6), Katelinn Wurm (3-7) and Angela Bell (2-0). Horn and Wagner have gone 4-6 in doubles play as the team’s winningest combo.
- The Concordia men had beaten three institutions from the state of Kansas in a row before running into their first nationally-ranked opponent of the season (No. 24 Bethany). Collectively, the Bulldogs are 35-37 in singles play and 14-22 in doubles action. Gabe Poling paces the team with a 9-2 singles mark. Six of his victories have come at the No. 4 spot. Next on the list of wins leaders are Thomas Greeff (6-6), Lucas Zoller (6-6), Javier Moreno (5-3) and Josh Miller (4-4). Zoller has won his last two singles matches.
- Both teams are in the middle of an extended break. The women will be at Nebraska Wesleyan on March 29. The men will take on the Prairie Wolves the next day in Lincoln. Conference play will get started in April.