Who Are These Guys?

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (3/16/13)—Concordia's new names and fresh faces helped the Cobbers win three out of their four games in the Metrodome over the weekend and finish the "indoor" portion of their schedule with a 6-4 record.

Concordia swept Carthage College (Wis.) 5-2 and 6-3 on Friday night and then split with Carroll University (Wis.) – losing 4-3 and then winning 7-1 – on Friday night. All three wins on the weekend were turned in by pitchers who didn't hurl a single inning for the Cobbers last season and in those three victories, the Cobber new name offensive attack hit .415 and drove in 11 of the team's 21 total runs.

We'll excuse readers if they want to click over to the roster page as they finish reading the recap to find out about all the first-year players for Concordia.

The Cobbers scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning in the opener on Friday night against Carthage to come away with a 5-2 win. The game was tied 2-2 heading into the final frame when Devin Johnson (new name) singled to put runners on first and third and then All-Region Gold Glove first baseman Brian Guler tripled to left-center field to drive in the game-winning runs. Erik Hiedeman then singled home Guler to complete the scoring. The victory was picked up by Cody Rahman (new name) who pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning and struck out three in the process. It was Rahman's second win of the season and he has yet to allow an earned run in his 4.2 innings of relief work.

The second game against Carthage was decided in the bottom of the fifth inning when Concordia scored three times to break open a 3-3 game. All three game-deciding runs came with two outs in the frame.  After Guler doubled, Matt Schalow (new name) walked and then Tim Carlson (new name) tripled to right-center field. Hiedeman once again picked up the triple by singling up the middle and the Cobbers were staked to a 6-3 lead. Rahman pitched a perfect sixth inning before Bryce Feia earned his third save of the early season by finishing off the seventh inning. The win in the game was earned by Cooper Wilson (new name) who got out of a jam in the top of the fifth inning and recorded his first collegiate victory.

Concordia lost 4-3 in the opener on Saturday night against Carroll after they gave up a pair of runs in the second and then single stanzas in the fifth and sixth. The Cobbers had six different players with one hit each and Ross Merriman (new name) pitched the first five innings and only allowed two earned runs while striking out three.

The Cobbers took control of the nightcap against the Pioneers in the very first inning. Concordia struck for three runs and never looked back as they raced to a 7-1 win. The seven runs is the most in a single game for CC since Apr. 19 of last season. In the bust-out first inning, Johnson tripled to score Braden Rahman and then Matt Ziebarth (new name) singled home Johnson and eventually scored the third run of the inning on a single from Jordan Domine (new name).

Johnson finished the game by going 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored. Ziebarth was 2-for-2 with 2 RBI and one run scored, while Cody Rahman – seeing his first at bats of the year – went 2-for-3 with a triple and scored a run.
 
Mike Rose (new pitching name) went six strong innings and allowed just four hits and one earned run to collect his first collegiate victory. Sam Mattson (new name) pitched a perfect seventh inning to close out the three-win weekend.

Through the first 10 games of the season, the Cobbers have eight players hitting .300 or better. Of those eight players, five are fresh faces to the Concordia program. CC is hitting .284 so far this season and has 21 extra-base hits including eight triples. The Cobbers had seven triples in all of last season.

The Concordia pitching staff is holding opponents to a mere .208 batting average and has a combined 3.09 earned run average. The Cobbers have five hurlers that have thrown at least three innings and have an ERA under 3.00. Of those five, only one pitched for Concordia last season.

The new look Cobbers will try and get outside next weekend when they travel west to play four games at Dickinson State. Concordia will square off against the Blue Hawks in a doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 23 beginning at 1 p.m. and then again on Sunday, Mar. 24 at 1 p.m.