(Ann Arbor, MI) – Concordia baseball is preparing to embark on their 2024 campaign after a historic season last year. The Cardinals are coming off a 48-10 record which saw the team claim the WHAC regular season title and reach the NAIA Opening Round for the first time in school history. Head coach Zach Johnston, who took home the NCCAA Coach of the Year honors last year, enters his 10th year in charge of the program, returning 36 players and adding 27 newcomers.
2023 Season Review
Concordia went 48-10 overall with a 26-5 WHAC record last year. The Cardinals won 27 of their first 28 games and began dominating in conference play. CUAA surged to the #1 seed in the WHAC and earned the right to host both pod play and the final series of the WHAC tournament.
Concordia downed Lawrence Tech and Indiana Tech to advance to the final against Madonna. The Cardinals fell in two close games, but the team still received a trip to NAIA Regionals in the Lewiston Bracket.
Concordia downed #21 Science and Arts in pod play of the bracket. However, the host team Lewis-Clark State was able to hand the Cardinals two losses to eliminate them from the tournament.
2023 saw a handful of Cardinals receive national honors after their historic season. Drew Fleming and Tyson Kleinfelter each earned NAIA Second Team All-American status. 6 different Cardinals earned their way to an NCCAA All-American team with Tyson Kleinfelter earning Pitcher of the Year and First-Team, Jarrett Batanian, Jordan Sherman, and Drew Fleming making the Second-Team, and Caleb Harmond and Timothy Pomaville earring Third-Team honors.
2024 Schedule Outlook
The Cardinals will open their season with their highest NAIA ranking to begin a season as they are ranked 24th in the preseason coaches poll. Concordia was also voted as the top team in the conference in the preseason WHAC poll, receiving all 12 first place votes.
Concordia will start the season with a 3-game series from February 17-19 at Bob Jones. The Cardinals will play another 3-game series at Shawnee State to close out the month.
In March, the team travels to Lindsey Wilson for a 4-game series March 2-3. Concordia will stay on the road to St. Andrews for a 4-game series. WHAC play starts on March 16 with a doubleheader against rival Siena Heights. The Cardinals travel to Lourdes and Cleary before returning for an 8-game homestand against Rochester, Cleary, and Lawrence Tech. A doubleheader at UM-Dearborn closes out the month.
April starts with a 4-game series at Aquinas and a doubleheader at Cornerstone. Concordia will then have another 8-game homestand with matchups against Indiana Tech, Grace Christian, and UNOH. A 4-game series at rival Madonna closes out the regular season.
Concordia Personnel
Seniors: Drew Fleming, who was honored as an NAIA Preseason All-American and was named the 2023 WHAC Player and Newcomer of the Year, comes back after hitting .358 with 27 home runs and 79 RBI. Curtis Townsend returns after making 29 RBI with a .291 average. Taishin Matsushita had 7 hits as a batter while pitching 3 wins with 12 strikeouts. Taisei Yamada had 7 hits with a .350 average. Andre Hutchins made 5 hits with a .294 average. Jake Ryan scored 8 runs with 2 stolen bases as a pinch runner.
Mackenzie Martin pitched 8.1 innings with 5 strikeouts. Logan Fleming pitched for 2 wins with 20 strikeouts. Jack Vrba picked up a pitching win in 4.0 innings with 2 strikeouts. Riley O'Connell threw 1.1 innings with 2 strikeouts. Ryan Patterson pitched one inning last year. Caden Flanery brings pitching depth.
Juniors: Kyle Hebner, who was named a member of the 2023 WHAC Second Team All-Conference, had 50 hits with 7 home runs and a .292 average. Aaron West had 53 hits with 6 home runs and a .323 average. Justin Kozlowski had 27 hits with 3 home runs. Tyler Wressel scored 43 runs as a pinch runner with 9 stolen bases. Harrison Ryan scored 23 runs as a pinch runner while notching 6 hits. Blake Weaver had one hit last season.
Drew Murphy picked up 5 pitching wins with 38 strikeouts. Kenneth (Dave) Rozmys notched 3 pitching wins with a 2.43 ERA and 50 strikeouts. Bryon Mane pitched for 4 wins with 41 strikeouts. Kyle Winslow pitched 11.2 innings with 10 strikeouts. Ryan Kotecki adds pitching depth.
Underclassmen: Evan Jasiak, a member of the 2023 WHAC Second Team All-Conference, had 8 pitching wins with 22 strikeouts. Trey Acker pitched for 2 wins in 32 innings with 22 strikeouts. Brad Oltersdorf threw 2.1 innings with a strikeout. Derek Hebner picked up 2 hits last year. Ben Steele adds depth at third base and pitcher. Marcus Bugeja provides pitching depth. Ryan Dixon brings depth in the infield. Aidan Buchberger, Amare (Bobby) Morgan, Ethan Orlowski, Garrett Williams, Kolton Horn, and Owen Johnson all return for their second season with Concordia as redshirt-freshmen.
Newcomers: The Cardinals have added 27 newcomers. Junior transfers include Alex Czyzewski, Alex Piotrowski, Clayton McKinstry, Ethan Pollard, Jake Kuhlman, Joe Finder, Josh Burke, Landen Harris, Logan Hylek, Matthew Sapakoff, Ryan VanSlambrouck, and Tyler Lawson. Sophomore transfers include Aaron Garner, Andrew Markley, Dylan Kints, Gus Simon, Logan Morris. The freshmen are Caleb Thomas, Casey Robertson, Cooper Cumberworth, Darren Pagel, Jacob Frederick, Kolby Dorn, Matthew Dubrick, Sebastian Nelson, Ty Schornak, and Zach Matthews.
Head coach Zach Johnston is joined by assistant coaches Steven Dennison, Tyson Kleinfelter, Tom Johnston, Gabe Farr, Matt Hunt, and Cam Ciaciuch. The student assistants are Jake Moyer, Johnny Shields, Jimmy Wressel, Caleb Harmond, John Markiewicz, and Jarrett Batanian. The team managers are Carter Richardson, Zach Brickner, Jack Burnett, and Jack Geraghty.
2023 Team Stats
