Cardinal Baseball 2009 Season Preview
ANN ARBOR, Mich., February 25, 2009 – Coming off the heels of a season that produced the most wins in Cardinal history, as well as the first winning season in 18 years, the Concordia baseball team is poised to build upon that success and continue the trend of producing greater results each season under the helm of head coach Karl Kling.
Kling, entering his sixth year, became the all-time wins leader in school history in the third game last year as he notched his 77th career win. Entering this season, Kling has 101 victories – an average of 20 wins a season for a program that had zero 20-win seasons before his arrival.
“The credit to this program goes to the young men who believed in what we told them about the direction we were taking the team over the last few years,” Kling said.
The 2009 squad will feature many of the players who put together the 27-win season last year with senior captains Ben Sprague and Tyler Maxey providing the leadership needed to steer the ship in the right direction.
Sprague was an Honorable Mention All-Conference player last season as a third baseman, as well as being named Academic All-Conference and Academic All-American. This season, Sprague was one of two Cardinals named by Collegiate Baseball as a player to watch this season.
Tony Pounders returns for his junior season as the cornerstone of the infield at shortstop as he looks to build on his All-Region Gold Glove honor as a sophomore. Five other position players return looking to build upon their seasons a year ago, while four transfers enter the fold providing much positional depth to the program: Frank Persichino, Jeff Bultinck and Sean Quesada from Macomb Community College; and Kenny Warren from Henry Ford Community College.
“We have, quite possibly, the best offense and defense in the conference,” Kling said. “However, baseball is won and loss on the mound and our pitching staff also has depth despite being very young.”
With no seniors on the pitching staff, the Cardinals will be looking to many young arms to carry the load of a successful season. Junior starting pitchers Brent McNeil and Bobby Koon, who was red-shirted last season due to an injury, will be looked upon to lead the staff along with sophomore Brad Roettger, the other Card named by Collegiate Baseball as a player to watch. Junior Tim Shafto will be the anchor of the bullpen for Concordia this season while several new faces will look to establish themselves quickly. At the forefront of the group are Billy Kohls and Cameron Hynds of Jackson Community College; and Nick Rober from Central Michigan University, as well as freshmen Shawn Barnes, Matthew St. Kitts and Ryan Noack.
“We are poised to win 30-games, we believe, this season, further moving the expectation bar higher,” Kling said. “Whether we do or don’t reach our win total goal, that won’t be as fulfilling as the team having a team grade point average of 3.05 this past fall. That to me further shows the growth and improvement in the program.”
This season, the Cardinals will set school records for Academic All-Conference selections (at least seven) and Academic All-Americans (three).
“If we maintain this level of commitment off and on the field, we will be very successful this season and beyond and we can start thinking about making room for banners on our outfield wall,” Kling said.
This season, the Cardinals were selected third in the pre-season coaches poll for the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. In addition to the extremely tough conference schedule, the Cards will play tough NAIA opponents such as #10 University of the Cumberlands, William Penn University and Indiana Wesleyan. Not to mention, Concordia has games against Oakland University and Central Michigan University.
“We have had great success against NCAA Division II and III programs and despite holding our last five Division I opponents all to six runs or less, we still have yet to knock off a D1 school,” Kling said. “We plan to change that this season.”
With so much talent throughout the lineup, the Concordia Cardinals have as their goal a conference championship and the first-ever trip to the national tournament.
Concordia University Ann Arbor is a private, Christian liberal arts institution of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Concordia offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in an environment focused on the individual student. Concordia is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) and by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Concordia’s Family Life Program is approved by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). The athletics program has helped Concordia receive the recognition of a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Champions of Character institution. Concordia is located at 4090 Geddes Road in Ann Arbor, MI. For more information, visit: www.cuaa.edu.
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