(Ann Arbor, MI) - The Concordia Cardinals Baseball team is headed to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament tomorrow. The Cardinals are making their ninth straight appearance at the conference tournament after earning the second seed this season.
The new tournament format features a double-elimination bracket. All eight teams will play a game on Wednesday and make it to the next day. On Thursday, four teams will be eliminated with two more on Friday. Friday will have the final consolation game with the two remaining teams moving on to the Championship game on Saturday.
Game Information
#2 Concordia vs #7 Cleary
Cornerstone University | Grand Rapids, MI
April 30 - May 3, 2025 | Hosted by Aquinas and Cornerstone
About the Cougars
The Cleary Cougars went 23-25 on the season, while recording a 13-15 record in the WHAC which earned them the seventh seed. Drew Maki is in his fourth season at the helm for the Cougars.
First Team All-WHAC Outfielder Brendan Seman leads the Cougars in most statistical categories at the plate with his 0.373 batting average and 39 RBI. Brodie Mackay brings some power to the lineup with 37 RBI and a team leading 23 extra base hits. Joey Parinello starts behind the dish for Cleary and is third on the team with 15 extra base knocks and 29 RBI.
Second Team All-WHAC Starting Pitcher Will Roberts went 5-1 on the season with a 4.15 ERA and 1.14 WHIP while striking out 61 batters through his 56.1 innings of work. Jacob Savina and Haden Fisk are the next two most trusted arms for the Cougars who have an ERA of 4.99 and 4.62 respectively.
About the Cardinals
Concordia finished their season with a 41-9 record overall and 22-6 WHAC record, good enough to take the second seed in the WHAC tournament. Head Coach Zach Johnston is now in his 11th season with the program and has a 392-195 record overall.
Jake Kuhlman earned First Team All-WHAC accolades after hitting for a 0.407 average on the season along with 25 extra base hits and 49 steals. Tyler Wressel was named a First Team Catcher for the Cardinals after he led the team with a 0.410 average and mashed 11 home runs. Josh Burke manned third base for the Cardinals on his way to Second Team honors with a conference leading 19 home runs and 68 RBI. Gus Simon also received Second Team accolades in the outfield while earning a Gold Glove alongside Catcher Tyler Wressel, First Baseman Derek Hebner, and Second Baseman Jake Kuhlman.
The Cardinals were led on the mound by All-WHAC Second Teamer Trey Acker. Acker pitched 55.2 innings on his way to a 7-1 record with a WHIP of just 1.28. Bryon Mane, Logan Morris, Drew Murphy, and Evan Jasiak all made 7 or more starts for Concordia, while Blake Weaver and Kenneth (Dave) Rozmys played big roles out of the bullpen with 6 and 2 saves respectively.
WHAC Round Up
UNOH won their second straight regular season with a 26-2 record within the conference to earn the top seed. The Cardinals finished two games ahead of Indiana Tech to claim the second seed while Cleary, Lawrence Tech, Siena Heights, and Lourdes all finished with a 13-15 record and tied for sixth. Lourdes ended up missing the tournament on the tiebreaker rules.
Previous Matchup
The Cardinals and Cougars squared off in the middle of the conference season in a home doubleheader for Concordia on April 5th. The Cardinals swept Clear 10-3 and 4-3.
In the first matchup, the Cougars got to Trey Acker and the Cardinals early on, but they were able to bounce back from the 0-3 deficit with a 5-run bottom of the third when Derek Hebner walked home a run followed by a Josh Burke grand slam. Hebner continued a strong day at the plate with four more RBI in the game to help secure the Cardinal win.
Logan Morris went 5.1 innings in game two, only giving up one earned run. The Cardinals plated three runs in the bottom of the second inning by way of hits from Tyler Wressel, Gus Simon, and Harrison Ryan. Alex Piotrowski tacked on one more important insurance run with an RBI single in the fourth to give the Cardinals the edge they needed over Cleary. Kenneth (Dave) Rozmys came in to earn the 3.2 inning save and close the door on the Cougars.
Team Stat Comparison
|
Concordia |
Stat |
Cleary |
|
50 |
Games |
48 |
|
1475 |
At Bats |
1475 |
|
467 |
Runs |
323 |
|
481 |
Hits |
454 |
|
99 |
Doubles |
84 |
|
18 |
Triples |
14 |
|
56 |
Home Runs |
21 |
|
404 |
Runs Batted In |
274 |
|
173 |
Extra Base Hits |
119 |
|
784 |
Total Bases |
629 |
|
264 |
Walks |
218 |
|
98 |
Hit by pitch |
79 |
|
256 |
Strikeouts |
348 |
|
28 |
Sacrifice Flies |
19 |
|
32 |
Sacrifice Hits |
33 |
|
21 |
Hit into double play |
36 |
|
173 |
Stolen Bases |
77 |
|
18 |
Caught Stealing |
15 |
|
0.326 |
Batting Average |
0.308 |
|
0.452 |
On Base Percentage |
0.419 |
|
0.532 |
Slugging Percentage |
0.426 |
|
3.83 |
Earned Run Average |
5.65 |
|
1.37 |
WHIP |
1.54 |
|
6 |
Shutouts |
4 |
|
1388 |
At Bats Against |
1426 |
|
0.257 |
Batting Average Against |
0.277 |
WHAC Tournament
April 30, May 1-3, 2025
8 Teams - Games Played at Meijer Sports Complex and Cornerstone University
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Wednesday, April 30
Meijer Sports Complex
Game 1 2:00pm #1 UNOH vs #8 Siena Heights
Game 2 6:00pm #4 Aquinas vs #5 Madonna
Cornerstone University
Game 3 2:00pm #2 Concordia vs #7 Cleary
Game 4 6:00pm #3 Indiana Tech vs #6 Lawrence Tech
Thursday, May 1
Gm5 L1 vs. L2 - 10 a.m. - Meijer Sports Complex
Gm6 L3 vs. L4 - 10 a.m. - Cornerstone Univ.
Gm7 W1 vs. W2 - 2 p.m. - Meijer Sports Complex
Gm8 W3 vs. W4 - 2 p.m. - Cornerstone Univ.
Gm9 L8 vs. W5 - 6 p.m. - Cornerstone Univ.
Gm10 L7 vs. W6 - 6 p.m. - Meijer Sports Complex
Friday, May 2
Meijer Sports Complex
Gm11 W9 vs.W10 - 10 a.m.
Gm12 W7 vs. W8 - 2 p.m.
Gm13 L12 vs. W11 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 3
Meijer Sports Complex
Gm14 W12 vs. W13 - 2 p.m.
Gm15 If necessary - 6 p.m.
