Austin, Texas – The Concordia University Texas baseball team will gear up to play four Northwest Conference opponents at the Arizona Desert Classic from Feb. 10-13 in Anthem, Ariz. The Tornados are slated to face Pacific Lutheran, which is among the teams receiving votes in the national polls, eighth-ranked Linfield, Whitman and George Fox during the four-game tournament with Director of Athletics Dan Huntley calling all of the action.

Concordia (1-1) split a doubleheader against Southwestern at Tornado Field, dropping a 3-2 decision in the opener before regrouping to register a 10-2 victory in the nightcap last Saturday. The Tornados have particularly relied on their pitching and defense for success in the early going. The team did not commit an error in the field, and five hurlers combined for 23 strikeouts against only three walks on Saturday. In addition, the Pirates only batted .196 as a team. Russell Johns and Sean Thompson each hurled three scoreless innings of relief without allowing a hit, while Ryan Ullman and Colin Butschek, who was named as to the “16 Players to Watch” list released by the ASC, also had solid season debuts on the hill. Pedro Maldonado, an all-conference second teamer last year, went 3-for-6 with a double and five runs scored, while Robert Brown and Brent Schaekel drove in three runs each to pace the offense on Saturday at Tornado Field.

Pacific Lutheran, which registered a 30-10 ledger last spring, was selected to finish second in the Northwest Conference behind Linfield and enters the 2011 season ranked 27th in the Collegiate Baseball national poll and 28th in the D3baseball.com poll. Junior second baseman Corey Moore, senior centerfielder Ryan Aratani and senior reliever Ryan Frost were each named to the All-NWC First Team and headline the list of returners. Moore hit .395 with 38 RBI last season, while Frost batted .398 with 35 RBI and also matched a team high with 49 runs scored. Frost fanned 17 batters in 22 innings of work. Other players to watch include junior first baseman Brock Gates, senior outfielder Dan Johansen and senior pitcher Scott Wall. All three Lutes were all-conference second team selections last season.

After placing third at the 2010 College World Series and being ranked eighth in the D3baseball.com preseason national poll, Linfield is expected to be Concordia's toughest competition at the tournament. The Wildcats, who won a school-record 37 games last season, were also picked to win the Northwest Conference in 2011. The team's strongest areas are pitching and defense, with 2010 NWC Pitcher of the Year Ryan Larson and second-team all-league honoree Robert Vaughn expected to lead the staff. Larson notched a school-record 12 wins in 2010, which included hurling two shutouts, while posting a 3.02 earned run average. Vaughn, who was mainly used in relief, had a 2.19 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 24.2 innings of work. Offensively, the Wildcats should be paced by Zach Boskovich. The junior outfielder batted .407 and set a single-season program standard with 17 home runs last spring, earning ABCA All-America Second Team honors for his efforts.

Whitman posted a 5-34 record with only 13 players under a new coaching staff last season, but the squad is expected to a tougher out this weekend in Arizona with a new 19-member recruiting class comprised of 16 freshmen, two sophomores and one junior making up the bulk of its current 24-man roster. Erik Korsmo is the team's top returner after being honorably mentioned for All-NWC honors last spring. He led the squad in hitting for the second straight season with a .353 batting average, .525 slugging percentage and a .467 on-base percentage. Although primarily used as a catcher, Korsmo also made 13 appearances and seven starts on the mound last year and earned saves in both ends of a doubleheader. Infielder Jay Richards, another senior, batted .340 in 2010 as the team's shortstop and is expected to move over to first base this year.

George Fox, which is serving as the host school for the tournament, is coming off a 23-16 campaign and was selected to finish third in the Northwest Conference this year behind Linfield and Pacific Lutheran. Shortstop Taylor Hunter, an All-NWC First Team honoree as a sophomore in 2009 after batting .360, returns to the lineup after playing at Oregon State last season and will look to help the squad return to the top of the conference. Right fielder Dan Winterstein made the all-conference second team last season by posting a .317 batting average with 12 doubles and a team-leading 10 stolen bases on as many attempts in 2010. Other notable returners include Sam Stahl and Eric Gantenbein, who were honorably mentioned for All-NWC accolades last year and are expected to play third and first base, respectively, this weekend. Stahl batted .370, belting 17 doubles and driving in 39 runs, while Gantenbein hit .311 to help pace the offense last year.

Thursday, Feb. 10
2:50 p.m. CST: Pregame
3:00 p.m. CST: Concordia vs. Pacific Lutheran @ Arizona Desert Classic

Friday, Feb. 11
2:50 p.m. CST: Pregame
3:00 p.m. CST: Concordia vs. #8 Linfield @ Arizona Desert Classic

Saturday, Feb. 12
10:50 a.m. CST: Pregame
11:00 a.m. CST: Concordia vs. Whitman @ Arizona Desert Classic

Sunday, Feb. 13
10:50 a.m. CST: Pregame
11:00 a.m. CST: Concordia vs. George Fox @ Arizona Desert Classic

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