Northwestern/Dana Baseball Preview

Game Time... Northwestern faces Dana at 5:00 pm on Monday in the home opener for the Red Raiders.

Scouting Dana... Dana comes into today's contest with a 4-10 GPAC record and is 7-22 overall.  Dana is led offensively by Taylor Hoskinson, who is batting .370 in 81 at bats.  Andrew James and Austin Lunn are also hitting over .300, with .337 and .306 averages respectively.  They are tied for the team lead in doubles with nine a piece.  Quentin Connealy leads the Vikings in RBI, driving in 17 runners, while Hoskinson leads the team in runs scored with 18.  

John Ocken and Matt Weeks lead the Vikings on the mound.  Ocken has a 2.53 ERA in nine relief appearances and has four saves, while Weeks is 1-3 with a 3.43 ERA in five starts.  Robert Riggs has made a team best seven starts and is 3-3 with a 6.00 ERA , while Pete Treantos (1-3, 7.91 ERA) and Kyle Courtney (0-4, 9.41 ERA) are the only other Vikings with four or more starts.  In their last doubleheader Dana was swept by Briar Cliff by the scores of 10-5 and 8-6.  

Red Raider Notes...  Last week the Raiders faced Dakota Wesleyan in a GPAC doubleheader.  Northwestern was able to win game one 1-0 behind a two hit shut-out by Mihai Burlea before falling 11-1 in game two.  Northwestern sits atop the GPAC with a 10-2 record and is followed closely by Briar Cliff, who is 11-3.  Northwestern boasts a .297 team batting average and has seven players batting over .300.  Juniors Jake Jansen and Grant Wall lead the team with .382 and .365 averages.  Jansen has a team best 22 RBI while Wall has a team best 12 doubles, 26 runs scored, and 31 hits.  Seniors Joe Heitritter and Codie Zeutenhorst are both hitting North of .300, hitting .350 and .337.  Heitritter has scored 24 runs and has driven in 16, while Zeutenhorst has driven in 21 and hit seven doubles.  Kent Drickey (.353), Brad Payne (.323), and Austin Malone (.318) are also above .300 on the season.  Sophomores Curtis Bomgaars and Matt Gray are both hitting .313 in conference games only.

Senior Mihai Burlea leads the Red Raider staff this season with a 6-2 record and a 4.26 ERA.  Joe Grady (3-2, 3.68 ERA), Trevor Kuiper (3-1, 5.22 ERA), and Mike Zoellner (2-1, 3.00 ERA) have also pitched very well for Northwestern.  Grady has also served as the team's closer this season managing four saves to go with his three wins.  In conference games only, Zoellner and Burlea are undefeated, Burlea is 4-0 while Zoellner is 2-0.  Zoellner has a 1.38 ERA in the GPAC, while Burlea is at 2.42.

Up Next... Northwestern travels to Fremont, Neb. on Wednesday afternoon to take on Midland Lutheran in a rescheduled GPAC doubleheader.  Game times for Wednesday are 4:30/6:30.  Northwestern will have a home weekend on the 18th/19th as Mt. Marty and Nebraska Wesleyan come to Orange City.  Friday's doubleheader versus Mt. Marty will start at 5:00 p.m. and Saturday's doubleheader versus Nebraska Wesleyan will start at 1:00 p.m.

GPAC Standings