#CUWStatsInfo: Baseball starts season this weekend at Chapman
MEQUON, Wis. – The 2017 Concordia University Wisconsin Baseball season will begin this weekend with a trip to California for three games against Chapman. The Falcons will play the Panthers on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
CUWFalcons.com gets you ready for the 2017 Baseball season, as well as this weekend's games, with a few things you need to know heading into Friday.
Also be sure to check out the Falcon 'N Focus podcast featuring Danika Tramburg, who sat down with Falcons Baseball Coach Eddy Morgan earlier this week.
Veteran Lineup: In terms of returners it appears the Falcons strength this season could be with its veteran lineup. CUW returns seven players who had over 100 at-bats a season ago. Among those players are 2016 First Team All-NACC performers in juniors Nathan Thyssen and Kyle Hilliard.
Thyssen hit .342 and scored a team-leading 31 runs a season ago. Hilliard led the Falcons with a .398 batting average and drove in 29 runs. In addition, Matt Schubert, Dan Ranieri, Isaac Tewes, Bryan Thomas and Mitchell Dubnicka all return for the Falcons this season to help lead what is hoping to be a strong lineup.
New Pitchers Stepping Up: While CUW returns a lot to its offense this season, the pitching staff is quite the opposite. Only 2016 First Team All-NACC pitcher Andrew Heideman is back as a player who threw more than 20 innings a season ago. Heideman posted a 5.05 ERA last season but was dominant in NACC play with a 1.15 ERA in 39 innings pitched.
CUW has plenty of other options who saw limited action on the mound last year, as well as some freshmen in the fold. Among those, junior Mike Magdziarz threw the most in 2016, tossing 17.2 innings and finishing the year with a 3.57 ERA.
Heading West: Over the past few seasons, Concordia Wisconsin has opened its season in Arizona with a spring break trip, usually featuring between 10-12 games. While the Falcons will return to The Grand Canyon State for eight games this year, they will open this weekend with three in California. CUW hopes the two trips help the pitching staff as it avoid 12 games in six days type schedule.
Run Falcons Run: The Falcons will likely look to be aggressive on the base paths this season. The team swiped 63 bags last season and returns 56 of those steals this spring. Schubert led the team with 17 steals on 20 attempts last season, while Thyssen swiped 13 bags on 16 attempts.
Weekend Preview: The Falcons will battle Chapman for three games this weekend. The Panthers certainly have an advantage of having already played 12 games this season (9-3), but CUW will certainly be ready to roll to kick off 2017. Games are Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 1 and Sunday at 10 a.m. All times are Pacific.
