SEWARD, Neb. – The weather is expected to cooperate well enough for baseball to take place this weekend in McPherson, Kan. Following a GPAC championship season in 2019, the Concordia University baseball program is ready for the first pitch of the 2020 campaign. The Bulldogs are slated to be at McPherson College for doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday. Bulldog Park, located at 1000 S Centennial Street in McPherson, will serve as the venue.
The turf infield at Bulldog Park has allowed McPherson to get its season started earlier than many baseball programs in the Midwest. Live streams for the games will be available here: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/mcpherson/index.htm. Check the Dakstats website for live stats. Doubleheaders both days are slated to get underway at 12 p.m. CT.
Head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad has spent the winter months making use of the on-campus Fieldhouse and the Hitting Center while mostly staying indoors during preseason preparation. In terms of preseason hype, the 2020 season looks to be perhaps the most anticipated in the history of Concordia baseball. The Bulldogs begin the new campaign as the GPAC favorite and even landed at No. 24 in Perfect Game’s NAIA top 25. Last season the Bulldogs opened up conference play with 15-straight wins on their way to a second national tournament appearance in three years.
Concordia will be hard-pressed to duplicate the results it had on the pitching mound in 2019 when it recorded a sparkling 2.31 ERA during conference games. A legitimate pro draft prospect, lefty fire baller Jason Munsch is the ace of the staff. He owns a career strikeout-per-nine-innings rate of 12.59. Dupic’s stable of hurlers also features Jake Fosgett (6-2, 3.09 ERA, 13.83 K/9), 2018 GPAC Pitcher of the Year Nick Little and dominant reliever Ryan Samuelson (one earned run allowed in 25.1 IP in 2019). The Bulldogs also get a boost with Nathan Buckallew returning from injury.
Many key components from the lineup are also back. Foremost among them are right fielder Wade Council and slugger Jesse Garcia. Concordia will be breaking in a brand new middle infield after those spots were held down by Christian Meza and Logan Ryan the past four years. Thomas Sautel, a 2018 second team All-GPAC choice, returns from injury and will see time at second base and third base. Plenty of other experienced position players will be a factor, such as Ben Berg, Evan Bohman, Keaton Candor, Beau Dorman and Teyt Johson.
Also nicknamed the Bulldogs, McPherson swept a four-game series from Missouri Valley College last weekend while totaling a combined 63 runs. Head coach Bryan Moses led his squad to a 36-17 overall mark in 2019. Catcher Trevor Johnson is off to a hot start having gone 8-for-12 with two home runs, three doubles and 11 RBIs. Outfielder Kyle Lux has pounded out three homers. McPherson was picked third in the KCAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll (out of 12 teams).
Concordia is also scheduled for a doubleheader at Sterling College (Kan.) on Feb. 11 and for four games in Atchison, Kan., over a two-day period, Feb. 15-16. View the complete schedule HERE.