SCSU wraps up road trip with Tuesday midweek at Concordia-St. Paul

Tuesday, March 30

St. Paul, MN

3:00 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Concordia University, St. Paul

John Nett has a hit in each of the Huskies' 10 games this season

SCSU wraps up road trip with Tuesday midweek at Concordia-St. Paul

3/29/2021 1:00:00 PM | Baseball

St. Cloud State Baseball (5-5, 3-2 NSIC) finishes a conference season-opening seven-game road stretch with a Tuesday midweek series at Concordia-St. Paul (6-7, 2-6 NSIC) beginning at 1:30 p.m. CST. Both games are scheduled to be played at Barnes Field in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Huskies and Golden Bears have met 66 times in the season series, with SCSU holding a 44-22 advantage. Last season the teams met in a doubleheader at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 26, splitting 7-0 (SCSU) and 7-6 (CSP). Trevor Koenig was brilliant in the game two loss, striking out eight while scattering five hits and a walk over 5.0 innings.

Scouting the Huskies

SCSU was idle last weekend and is fresh off a two-game midweek sweep of Wayne State on Thursday. A thrilling 4-3 late-innings victory preceded a 12-2 run-rule game two win as the Huskies pounded out 23 hits in the series and held WSC to just nine. Centerfielder John Nett has starred for the Huskies in his second season, slashing .382/.532/.618 for a 1.150 OPS while picking up a hit in each of SCSU's 10 games. Including last season, Nett is riding a 12-game hitting streak. Corner outfielders Matt Quade (.441/.486/.765, 3 HR, 14 RBI) and Paul Steffensen (.976 OPS, 3 HR, 10 RBI) join Nett to provide the Huskies with tremendous outfield production, while first baseman Jake Shusterich (.367/.475/.633, 2 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBI) has been blazing-hot in the cleanup spot.

The Huskies' pitching staff has been nothing short of dominant in conference play, owning a 2.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, a .198 opponent average and .557 opponent OPS across their first five games. SCSU has walked just seven batters over 36.0 conference innings. Reliever Jack Habeck has thrown 7.2 scoreless frames in NSIC action, striking out five, walking none and allowing just two hits.

Scouting the Golden Bears

Concordia-St. Paul has lost five straight, having been swept by U-Mary in last week's midweek set and falling in all three games to Northern State. Game one of the NSU series was suspended on Saturday, leading to the two teams finishing the game Sunday morning followed by two seven-inning games that same day to complete the series. The Golden Bears haven't scored more than three runs in a game over their five-game losing skid and have been shut out twice. Shea Pekarek is the lone hitter with an average of .300 or better, presently slashing .300/.421/.367 with two doubles and five runs driven in. CSP has just three players OPS'ing above .700, and as a team has managed to post a meager .616 OPS mark.

As usual, CSP has found great success on the mound, maintaining a staff ERA of 3.48 and a .221 opponent average over 101.0 innings of work. Relievers Ryan Fering (3 APP, 0.00 ERA), Eric Lundell (4 APP, 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, Matt Sherman (2 APP, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA), T.J. Johnson (4 APP, 1-1, 1.93 ERA, 9.1 IP, .200 BAA, 0 BB, 9 K) and Jonah Lewis (3 APP, 2.08 ERA, 4.1 IP, .083 BAA, 7 K) lead one of the top bullpens in the conference. Senior lefthander Ryan Christopher and redshirt freshman righty Wyatt Rudolf started the U-Mary midweek. Christopher has started 13 games over his four-year career, striking out 56 with a .274 opponent average and a 6.24 ERA across 53.1 innings. In his first collegiate start against the Marauders, Rudolf allowed five earned on six hits and two walks over 2.2 innings while striking out four.

Broadcast Information

The series will be streamed on the NSIC Network with Live Stats provided by Concordia-St. Paul.