Cougar baseball team ranked #19 nationally
4/18/2011
The Concordia University Chicago baseball team is ranked #19 in the April 12 American Baseball Coaches Association's (ABCA) Division III poll.
Coming off three straight seasons of over 30 wins, the Cougars are currently 17-4 this season. They begin this week having won eight consecutive games, all in Northern Athletics Conference play.
Concordia is hitting .339 as a team with 188 runs scored, an average of nine runs per game. Among the team's leaders, junior outfielder Cam Stephens (Rosemont, Ill. – East Leyden H.S.) is hitting .474 in 18 games with 11 doubles among his 27 hits. Freshman Brenden Schulz (Kenosha, Wis. – Bradford H.S.) is hitting .444 (16-36) with 17 runs scored in 10 games and is 3-0 in his four appearances on the mound with a 3.00 ERA. Two senior pitchers have stood out with Anthony Collaro (Melrose Park, Ill. – Walther Lutheran H.S.) going 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA and Micah Buss (Columbus, Ind. – Columbus North H.S.) going 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA.
“It's great for our program that we are seen as a top 20 team nationally right now, especially for our seniors,” said Adam Smith, Concordia first-year head baseball coach. “Hopefully, this is just the start of great things to happen for these kids. They are an outstanding bunch to coach and work with, and they are seeing all of their hard work pay off.”
The complete ABCA poll can be viewed at http://www.muhlenberg.edu/pdf/main/athletics/abcapoll041211.pdf.