Bulldog Weekly Report (March 27)

By Jacob Knabel on Mar. 27, 2018 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Male: Cade Moring, Baseball

A senior from Eagar, Ariz., Moring has made immense improvement heading into his final collegiate season. He recorded a career high 15 strikeouts in last week’s 10-2 win over Mount Marty. He allowed two runs on four hits and four walks. He’s now 3-1 with a 3.51 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 25.2 innings on the season.

Female: Mackinsey Schmidt, Softball

A freshman from Crete, Neb., Schmidt has made a smooth transition to college softball. While playing in her hometown last week, Schmidt went 5-for-7 with two doubles, four runs, four RBIs and a walk. Her two-run double tied the score in the top of the seventh of game one at Doane. She is batting .380 in 20 games this season.

Previous athletes of the week
March 20 – Wade Council (baseball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
March 13 – Cody Williams (track & field) / Samantha Liermann (track & field)
February Athletes of the Month: Deandre Chery (wrestling) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Feb. 27 – Nick Little (baseball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Feb. 20 – Deandre Chery (wrestling) / Samantha Liermann (track & field)
Feb. 13 – Jerry Stepps III (wrestling) / McKenzie Gravo (track & field)
Feb. 6 – Michael Duffy (wrestling) / Colby Duvel (basketball)
January Athletes of the Month: Kyle Pierce (basketball) / Dani Hoppes (basketball)
Jan. 30 – Kyle Pierce (basketball) / Anna Baack (track & field)
Jan. 23 – Jacob Cornelio (track & field) / Dani Hoppes (basketball)
Jan. 16 – Josiah McAllister (track & field) / Brenleigh Daum (basketball)
Jan. 9 – Jared Woods (wrestling) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
December Athletes of the Month: Cordell Gillingham (basketball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Dec. 12 – Cordell Gillingham (basketball) / Taylor Cockerill (basketball)
Dec. 5 – Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Sydney Feller (basketball)
November Athletes of the Month: Tarence Roby (football) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 28 – Jake Hornick (basketball) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 14 – Cameron Devers (wrestling) / Jeannelle Condame (soccer)
Nov. 7 – Tarence Roby (football) / Emily Deschaine (cross country)
October Athletes of the Month: Ryan Durdon (football) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Oct. 31 – Ryan Durdon (football) / Kaitlyn Radebaugh (soccer)
Oct. 24 – Marcelo Hernandez (soccer) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Oct. 17 – Carlos Ferrer (soccer) and Grady Koch (football) / Sami Birmingham (soccer)
Oct. 10 – Micah Lehenbauer (soccer) / Kaitlyn Radebaugh (soccer)
Oct. 3 – Micah Lehenbauer (soccer) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
September Athletes of the Month: Tarence Roby (football) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Sept. 26 – Kordell Glause (football) / Emily Deschaine (cross country)
Sept. 19 – Lewis Rathbone (soccer) / Victoria Cera (soccer)
Sept. 12 – Tarence Roby (football) / Murphy Sears (golf)
Sept. 5 – Jack Bennett (soccer) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)

News and notes:

Wrapping up the winter sports season: We’ve been wrapping up the winter in Concordia athletics by reviewing the top moments and performers that thrilled us during Nebraska’s chilly months. The highlights included another ride to the national championship game for women’s basketball and impressive individual feats by the likes of Giovanni Castillo, Philly Lammers and Samantha Liermann. For an overall perspective on the 2017-18 Bulldog winter athletics season, click HERE. More sport specific season recaps are available for men’s basketball and wrestling.

Football opens up spring practice: Head coach Patrick Daberkow and the football program has begun readying for the 2018 season with their first official spring practices. The Bulldogs will practice 15 times between now and their public spring scrimmage on April 20. Daberkow’s squad features standouts such as running back Ryan Durdon and linebacker Lane Napier. For more spring coverage, click HERE.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its third year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 5:30 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 Max Country app. Throughout the 2017-18 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Tyler Cavalli serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Frank Greene called volleyball action again this past fall.

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

  • Rainy and chilly spring weather wreaked havoc upon last week’s schedule, but the Bulldogs did manage to host their home opening doubleheader on March 23. The result was a sweep of visiting Mount Marty by scores of 10-2 and 7-5. Concordia pounded out a combined 25 hits in the twin bill. The two victories moved fourth-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad to 14-7 overall and to 2-0 in conference play. For more on Bulldog baseball, click HERE.
  • Since an 0-3 start to GPAC play in 2017, Concordia has gone 24-7 in its last 31 games against GPAC opponents. That run includes three victories in last season’s conference tournament hosted by the Bulldogs. During its 2017 GPAC regular-season championship push, Concordia put together separate conference win streaks of nine and seven. The 19 GPAC wins last season broke a program record for league victories in a single season.
  • Junior second baseman Christian Meza has been white hot. The San Diego, Calif., native went 7-for-10 with five RBIs in last week’s doubleheader. His performance included a 5-for-5 effort in game one. By the end of the day, Meza had raised his season batting average to .470. He’s already collected 13 multi-hit games – five in a row. Meza also sports a healthy .516 on-base percentage and a .627 slugging percentage. He has tallied seven doubles, two home runs and 27 RBIs.
  • On the mound, sophomore righty Nick Little has produced eye-popping numbers of his own. He covered eight innings of the game two win over Mount Marty. He surrendered two unearned runs on four hits and one walk to go along with three strikeouts. In five starts this season, the native of Lithia, Fla., has gone at least seven innings each time. He is 4-1 with a 1.38 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 39 innings. He has allowed 26 hits and 11 walks. On three hits have gone for extra bases.
  • In game one versus Mount Marty, Cade Moring befuddled Lancer hitters. He recorded a career high 15 strikeouts while striking out the side on three separate occasions. In the seven-inning complete game, the Eagar, Ariz., native gave up two runs on four hits and four walks. Moring has been racking up K’s at an impressive rate this season. He has punched out 41 hitters over 25.2 innings. He also struck out 10 in a win over William Penn University (Iowa) on March 3. The school record for strikeouts in a game is 18 by Jim Juergensen in 1962.
  • Thanks to the impressive combined efforts of Concordia hitters and pitchers, the Bulldogs have had little trouble out-slugging their opponents. Bulldog batsmen have combined for 17 home runs through 21 games. On the flip side, their foes have left the ballpark only twice in 622 at bats. Six different Bulldogs have belted at least two home runs: Wade Council (4), Kaleb Geiger (3), Dylan Jacob (3), Thomas Suatel (3), Keaton Candor (2) and Meza (2). Concordia is slugging .480 as a team compared to a .331 clip by their opponents.
  • Council pulled off a rare feat last week when he was named by the GPAC as the conference’s player and pitcher of the week. Not wanting to take his bat out of the lineup, Dupic has allowed Council to his this season even on occasions when he is on the mound. The Colorado Springs native had his best pitching performance of the season on March 18 when he tossed a three-hit, seven-inning shutout in a win at College of the Ozarks. Council is hitting .368 with a .462 on-base percentage.
  • Council has been a catalyst for an offense that hasn’t missed a beat despite the departures of such All-GPAC performers as Casey Berg, Jason Galeano and Christian Montero. Nationally, the Bulldogs rank 20th in runs per game (8.0), 23rd in hits per game (10.1), 27th in slugging percentage (.480), 29th in batting average (.322) and 38th in home runs per game (0.81).
  • If weather allows, Concordia will play three GPAC doubleheaders this week. The slate will begin today (March 27) with a trip to Midland (12-9, 0-0 GPAC) for a 5 p.m. CT start. The Bulldogs will then play at Hastings (8-13, 0-0 GPAC) on Friday at 5 p.m. before hosting the Broncos at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Softball

  • Weather and unforeseen circumstances have led to Concordia playing just one game since March 14. In last week’s action, the Bulldogs dropped an 8-6, eight-inning contest at Doane. They led the second game 11-6 in the bottom of the fifth before play was suspended. The game ended abruptly when Doane’s second baseman was injured on a collision while attempting to turn a double play. It will be resumed at a later date. Fifth-year head coach Todd LaVelle’s squad stands at 11-10 overall and at 0-1 in conference play. For more information on Bulldog softball, click HERE.
  • Last week was a homecoming for Crete natives Jamie Lefebure and Mackinsey Schmidt, both products of Crete High School. They burned the Tigers with five hits apiece on the day. In game one, Schmidt tied the game in the top of the seventh with a two-run double. She then scored the go-ahead run to give the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead. Schmidt drove in four runs and Lefebure knocked in three. Among regulars, Schmidt ranks fourth on the team in batting average (.380). Lefebure is hitting .327.
  • In the bottom of the seventh of game one, righty pitcher Brittany Woolridge came within one pitch of sewing up a Bulldog win. After a bases loaded walk evened up the game, Woolridge got a fly out to left to necessitate an eighth inning. Doane won the game in the bottom of the eighth on Jordan Van Roy’s two-run homer just over the center field fence. Van Roy burned Concordia with an 8-for-8 day. Woolridge has covered 35.2 innings in the circle this season. She sports a 4.12 ERA over her eight appearances.
  • Hhana Haro, Lefebure and Schmidt all recorded three hits in the loss at Doane. Leah Kalkwarf registered a hit in both ends of the doubleheader while driving in three runs. Should the score hold up upon completion of the suspended game, Baily Clear would be in line for a pitching win. Four of the six runs she allowed were unearned.
  • Haro and Elanna Osthoff have sizzled at the plate this season. Osthoff is batting .524 with a home run and 14 RBIs. Haro sports an on-base percentage of .537 and a slugging percentage of .747. Haro is the current GPAC leader in batting average. At the moment, Osthoff does not qualify for the leaderboard that requires players to have played 75 percent of their team’s games and to have 2.5 plate appearances per team game. Kalkwarf if fifth in the GPAC with a .408 batting average.
  • Haro, Kalkwarf and Osthoff have been the leaders of an offense that ranks as one of the best in the nation. On the NAIA leaderboard, the Bulldogs check in eighth in hits per game (10.7), 14th in batting average, 15th in runs per game (7.3), 15th in doubles per game (2.0) and 20th in slugging percentage (.502). Individually, Haro ranks sixth nationally in hits per game (2.0) and 11th in batting average.
  • Kalkwarf has elevated her game each season as a collegiate softball player. She earned first team All-GPAC accolades last season after batting .366 and slugging .542. In her career, Kalkwarf has batted .354 with 31 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 70 RBIs over 115 games since the start of the 2016 season. Early this season, the Omaha native recorded her 100th career hit.
  • Just one doubleheader is on the slate for this week. Concordia and Northwestern are set to go head-to-head on Wednesday (March 28) for a makeup date. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. CT from Orange City, Iowa. The Bulldogs will have Easter weekend off before hosting Hastings on April 3.

Track & Field

  • Due to inclement weather, only a small portion of the roster opened up the outdoor season last week. Wayne State College shortened its annual Wildcat Classic to just one day (March 22). As a result, head coach Matt Beisel entered athletes in only the 1,500 and 10,000 meter races. The Bulldogs had not been in action since the indoor national championships March 1-3. For more information on Concordia track and field, click HERE.
  • At the Wildcat Classic, the men’s 10,000 meter race featured Cody Williams (7th; 37:10.29), Christian Watters (9th, 37:50.84), Zach Potratz (10th, 39:26.24), Jayden Graham (11th, 40:19.76) and Caleb Roberts (12th, 42:13.58). The women’s 10,000 meter race included Taylor Grove (2nd, 41:50.47), Sydney Clark (4th, 43:46.19), Erin Lindeman (7th, 45:59.70) and Savannah Dietz (9th, 49:48.75).
  • Beisel also entered athletes into the 1,500 meter run. On the men’s side, Jordan Lorenz placed 14th (4:29.24) and Patrick Schneeberger finished 17th (4:36.45). On the women’s side, Alyssa Fye placed fifth (5:26.78), Emily Boyer 11th (5:57.73) and Grace Thieme 15th (7:14.64).
  • In recent years, the additional throwing events at outdoor meets have favored the Bulldogs, who captured national championship banners at the 2015 (men) and 2016 (women) NAIA outdoor national events. At the 2017 outdoor national championships, Concordia placed fifth on the men’s side and sixth on the women’s side. Samantha Liermann is the defending national champion in the shot put.
  • The Bulldogs hope to be out in full force this Saturday at the Alex Francis Classic hosted by Fort Hays State University Invitational in Hays, Kan. Beisel’s program will then get ready to host the Concordia Outdoor Invitational April 6-7.

Tennis

  • The first Concordia tennis action since spring break took place over the weekend. The Bulldog men dropped a 9-0 decision at the hands of a Bethany College (Kan.) squad that is receiving votes in the national poll. Meanwhile, the women picked up a win by default over the Swedes, who failed to travel a women’s team for the scheduled match. Fourth-year head coach Joel Reckewey’s squads own records of 8-5 on the women’s side and 7-6 on the men’s side. For more on Concordia tennis, click the following links: men | women.
  • Currently ranked second in the GPAC poll, Concordia put up its best fight at the Nos. 2 and 4 singles spots and at No. 2 doubles in the loss to Bethany. At the No. 2 singles spot, Luke Zoller fell by a 7-5, 6-3, score while Gio De Moraes endured a 6-0, 7-5, defeat at No. 4. The combo of Thomas Greeff and Conner Works slipped, 8-5, at No. 2 doubles. The other singles spots are held down by Greeff (No. 2), Caleb Lauby (No. 3), Jeremy Berryman (No. 5) and Josh Miller (No. 6).
  • Through 13 matches, the men’s program owns combined records of 36-42 in singles and 22-17 in doubles. The team’s singles wins leaders are Berryman (7-6), Zoller (7-6), Greeff (6-7) and Miller (5-6). In doubles, the duo of Berryman and Zoller (7-5) and De Moraes and Miller (7-3) have posted seven wins apiece. At No. 3 doubles, Concordia has gone 10-3.
  • On the women’s side, the Bulldogs are a combined 36-36 in singles and 21-15 in doubles action. Two individuals have exactly six wins: Annie Horn (6-5) and Katelinn Wurm (6-6). The duo of Horn and Kirsten Wagner have gone 5-5 in doubles play. Wurm has partnered with four different teammates and is 8-3 in doubles.
  • The men’s and women’s teams are scheduled to play once this week. Concordia will take on former GPAC rival Nebraska Wesleyan at 4 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Both matches will be staged at Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln. Conference play looms next week with contests at Doane.

Golf

  • The men’s program has been in action at two different events so far this spring. In Saturday’s (March 24) rainy and chilly Bulldog-Tiger Cup, Concordia defeated Doane, 6.5 to 5.5 in an annual event that has been held continually at York Country Club. The Bulldog men’s team also placed ninth out of 12 teams at the Spring Break Invitational played at Grand National Lake Course in Opelika, Ala., March 8-9. Meanwhile, the women are still waiting to open up their spring season. For more on Concordia golf, click the following links: men | women.
  • At the Bulldog-Tiger Cup, head coach Brett Muller’s singles lineup included Tyler Ehresman, Harrison Helmer, Jayden Neal, Russell Otten, Tylar Samek, Kort Steele, Grant Suchanek and Nolan Zikas. Helmer and Zikas won their head-to-head matches while Neal, Steele and Suchanek all halved their matches. In the match pairings, the combos of Ehresman and Otten and Helmer and Harrison earned victories. The other two pairings resulted in halved matches. Concordia led 3-1 going into singles competition.
  • The men’s team owns an 18-hole average of 306.91 through 11 rounds of action in 2017-18. Five individuals have played in each of those rounds: Zikas (74.45), Otten (76.82), Steele (78.55), Samek (78.91) and Ehresman (81.18). Collectively, the Bulldogs have turned in six rounds of 300 or lower (288, 293, 295 twice, 299 and 300). Zikas carded a season individual low of 68 back on Sept. 20.
  • The women last competed at the GPAC Championships in October. The team’s most consistent performer has been freshman Murphy Sears, who owns a season average of 85.88. She owns the team’s seven lowest rounds of the 2017-18 season. As a team, Concordia sports a team average of 385.88 through eight rounds. Five individuals have been involved in each of those rounds: Sears, Rebecca Day (98.75), Haley Nolde (99.50), Payton DeMerrs-Sahling (100.25) and Paighton Barbre (104.63).
  • Both teams are off from competition this week. Next up for the men will be a match play event hosted by Northwestern at Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City, Iowa, April 9-10. The women will open up their spring season April 5-6 at the College of Saint Mary/Midland Invitational in both Omaha and Fremont.