May 13, 2008

Weekly Release: at NYIT

Northern Colorado (17-31) at NYIT (17-27-2)

Thursday, May 15 • Old Westbury, N.Y. • President's Field • 3:00 p.m.

Friday, May 16 • Old Westbury, N.Y. • President's Field • 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 17 • Old Westbury, N.Y. • President's Field • 1:00 p.m.

 

Regular Season Finale

Northern Colorado saved its longest trip of the year, in terms of distance, for last as the Bears travel to Old Westbury, N.Y., to face the NYIT Bears in a three-game set beginning on Thursday. Both teams are Division I Independents and will meet again in the Independent Championships in Edinburg, Texas next week.

 

Series History

This is the first-ever series between the two Bears teams, as Northern Colorado is 3-1 all-time against NYIT will all four previous appearances coming during Independent Invitational play. NYIT won the first meeting in 2004 and NC has been victorious in each of the last three seasons including the last game of the 2007 season, where they won a 3-1 decision at Utah Valley. The teams have also not played any common opponents during the 2008 season.

 

Significant Victory

The win over Texas-Pan American to start the three-game series was a milestone win for the Bears. It marked the program's 1,400th win all-time and also gave the 2008 team its 16th win to knot last season's victory mark, which was surpassed the next afternoon with the 16-6 game two win. Northern Colorado is now 1,401-1,041-3 all-time since the program began recording statistics in 1924.

 

Tied With Seven Left

Senior right-handed pitcher Sean Peery tied the Northern Colorado single season pitching appearances record at 24 games with two games thrown against Texas-Pan American. He ties Tyler Pearson from 2006. Peery has a record of 3-3 in those 24 contests, along with one save in 41.2 innings.

 

A Program First

For the first time in school history, the Northern Colorado baseball team will be playing in the Eastern Time Zone. The Bears have played several times this season in the Central Time Zone, but have never traveled two time zones to the east prior to the three game set scheduled at NYIT this weekend.

 

Finishing Strong

Junior Andy Mees finished up the 2008 season on fire, going 10-for-15 (.667) in the three games against Texas-Pan American. He hit for the cycle over the two days, notching seven singles, one double, one triple and one home run and led the club with seven RBI.

 

Double or Nothing

Both seniors Cory Morales and Erik Whinery hit three doubles each in the final home series against Texas-Pan American. Both went had seven hits in the two-day affair with three doubles and five RBI. As a team, the Bears hit 11 doubles in the three contests, bringing the season total to 113.

 

Back-to-Back

Sophomore Mike Raudenbush hit his first two career home runs in back-to-back at bats on Saturday against Texas-Pan American. He became the 11th player on the roster this season to hit one out of the park. Raudenbush currently leads the team with a .400 batting average and is third on the club with a slugging percentage of .525.

 

Double Double Toil and Trouble

Junior designated hitter Kevin Sandberg leads the team with 20 doubles this season, but senior first baseman Chad Murray is right behind him with 18. Both are currently ranked on the single-season top 10 list at Northern Colorado, with Sandberg sixth and Murray in a tie for eighth. The single season record for doubles is 27 by Patrick Perry in 2004. Sandberg also ranks 29th among Division I players with his 20 doubles this season, while Murray ranks 44th.

 

Winning Ways

For the first time since 2005, the Bears posted a winning record at Jackson Field, going 10-8 at the hitter friendly park. It marks the 21st time since 1980 the Bears were above .500 at home.

 

And Three Makes 21

With at least one hit in each of the three games against Texas-Pan American, sophomore Mike Raudenbush has now reached base safely in 21 straight games. It is the longest active streak on the team and the longest of the year.

 

It's An Honor

Senior Anthony Garcia was recently named an All-American by the National Strength & Conditioning Association and was named the winner of the Bear Down Award, given to teammates who work hard in the weight room, along with softball senior Morgan Dahlman.

 

No Double Trouble

Northern Colorado has hit 113 doubles this season, which is now just five shy of tying the school single season record of 118 from the 1994 team. The team's 2.35 doubles per game also ranks 24th among NCAA Division I teams. Georgia Southern leads the nation with 2.88 per contest. LeMoyne is the only other independent team ranked in the top 25, averaging 2.50 per game which is good for 10th.

 

That's A Lot Of Runs

For the second time this season Northern Colorado scored double digits in one inning of work when they posted 11 in the seventh inning of the first game against Texas-Pan American. The Bears also put 10 on the scoreboard earlier this season against Utah Valley in the eighth inning back on April 29.

 

Making His Move

Junior Kevin Sandberg continues to make his climb up the career charts in several different categories. He now ranks seventh overall in at bats with 520 and currently tied for 11th in school history with 120 RBI. He is third with 42 doubles, needing just five more to tie the record and needs just one more home run to move into a tie for ninth.

 

At The Plate

Senior Cory Morales has 193 at bats in 2008, which ties him for 10th on the Northern Colorado single-season chart with Adam Symons and Kevin Sandberg from last year. The record for at bats in a season is 230 by Shane Roberts in 2004.

 

Turning Two

In the last 10 games, Northern Colorado has turned 13 double plays, bringing the season total to 40 double plays after turning just eight in the first 10 games of the year. Shortstop Cory Morales has been involved with a team-best 26 of those turns, while Chad Murray has been in on 23.

 

In The Clutch

Three players have shined this year getting RBI with two outs. Junior Erik Hegstad leads the way with 21 RBI (35 total), while senior Erik Whinery has 20 (35) and Chad Murray (48) has 17. A total of 125 of the team's 319 RBI have come with two outs (.392).

 

A Win Over One

For the first time in Division I history at Northern Colorado, the Bears defeated the top-ranked team in the nation, downing Arizona State 6-3 on March 21. This season the Bears are 3-6 against teams ranked in the top 30, while they went 0-6 against ranked squads a year ago. In 2006, NC defeated #2-ranked Nebraska, 5-2 and went 2-4 against teams appearing in the national rankings.

 

Closing In

Senior right-handed pitcher Jason Banks needs to fan just 19 more to record his 100th strikeout as a Bear, while fellow senior Dan Kazell is 12 shy and senior T.R. Keating is 15 shy of the same milestone. Junior Erik Hegstad is now just five hits shy of 50 for his career, while senior Jeff Horn needs three RBI for 50. Senior Cory Morales is now just two starts shy of 100 and senior Chad Murray needs five hits for 100.