There may no tougher feat in sports than defending a national championship.  You represent everyone's biggest game of the year and make headlines for that team win or lose.  That challenge faced the 2012 Concordia baseball team, and given the circumstances, it was a very successful year.

"I thought our guys grew up and handled having a target on their back very well," head coach Mike Grahovac said. 

In 2012 the Eagles (38-18) improved their GSAC regular-season record from a year ago by two wins and six losses, going 22-10 enroute to a second-place finish behind Azusa Pacific.  One can argue California Baptist was no longer in the GSAC, but the Eagles squashed that statement by traveling to Riverside in early April and splitting a two-game series with the Lancers.  CU did repeat some postseason magic from a year ago, as they trekked to Azusa, CA for the GSAC Conference Tourney and took the title by winning four straight over (RV) Fresno Pacific, (RV) The Master's, Westmont, and #4 Azusa Pacific, May 1-4.  It was the second-straight, and second conference tournament championship in program history.  The run did not continue at the NAIA Opening Round in Marion, IN, as Concordia dropped two games to Doane College (NE).  CU entered the round as the #1 seed in Marion and established Concordia baseball as a perennial national power.  It was CU's second trip to the NAIA Opening Round and their record in that round now stands at 4-2 all-time.

"I like to load up the schedule early and it taught us how to deal with adversity," Grahovac said.  "It got us ready for the GSAC Tournament and the playoffs.  I want to play anybody.  I'd like to play NCAA Division I teams if we could just to show our players what it is about."

The team set season records in doubles, with 124, and triples, with 29.  They led the NAIA in triples.  They were only caught stealing 44 times, fourth best in the country.  They were eighth in putouts per game (25.804), eighth in doubles per game (2.214), 15th in stolen bases (129), and 15^th in doubles (124).  Concordia was 13^th in hits per game (10.464), 23^rd in slugging percentage (.461), 26^th in batting average (.318), 23rd in hits (586), and 27^th in runs per game (7.071).  The Eagles finshed #8 according to the NAIA Baseball Iterative Strength Rankings.

"Our team really gelled together well, especially with all the new faces," Grahovac said.  "

Kyle Konicek, a four-year player at Concordia and 2012 All-GSAC and GSAC Gold Glove honoree, set the Concordia career hits mark with 249.  He was 12^th in the GSAC in hitting with a .360 average.  He led the league with six triples, was third in doubles (18), fourth in runs scored (55), and third in stolen bases (20).  His six triples ranked 11^th in the nation.  Konicek ranked 30^th nationally in hits per game (1.481).  He is a career .345 hitter with at least 160 at-bats in all four years at CU.  Konicek was also a GSAC Gold Glove selection with a .940 fielding percentage, 96 putouts, and an impressive 13 assists from left field.

Kyle Konicek

Konicek leaves quite the legacy at CU and is one of the most productive hitters in history.  In 2012 he ranked all-time in individual batting records in games played (54 – 8^th), at-bats (222 – 2^nd), runs (55 – 5th), hits (80 – 4^th), doubles (18 – 4^th), triples (6 – 7^th), and multiple-hit games (24 – 6^th).  His career marks leave an indelible impact.  Konicek is the CU career leader in games played (198), at-bats (720), runs (172), and hits (249).  He is also ranked all-time in doubles (42 – 4^th), triples (13 – 2^nd), RBI (139 – 2^nd), extra-base hits (62 – 3^rd), total bases (338 – 2^nd), and stolen bases (42 – 8^th).  Konicek's production and leadership will no doubt be missed.

"It was a blast, absolutely," Kyle Konicek said.  "We had great support from the coaches, administration, and fans, and it was an honor to play for them."

Aaron Gates, a senior transfer from Pepperdine and All-GSAC selection, hit .348 and was third in the GSAC with 11 home runs.  Nationally, he was ninth in slugging percentage (.742) and 36^th in home runs (11).  His 11 bombs are fifth in the season rankings for CU.  His 26 extra-base hits rank ninth.

Sophomore outfielder John Doering, was third in the GSAC in hitting with a .398 average, ranking 10^th on the CU season list.  Junior Spencer Ofeltwas sixth in the GSAC with a .358 average.  Senior starter Jake Hovis was 10^th in the conference with a 4.04 average, and his 13 starts rank 14^th on the CU single-season rankings and his 100.1 innings pitched are eighth.  The Eagles were second in the league with a .318 team batting average and third with a 4.53 team ERA.

Jake Hovis

"Playing here is something I will never forget," Tony Harkey, Jr. said.  "It was a great group of guys and I was proud to wear CU on my shirt everyday."

Shortstop Matt Palmer was fifth in the NAIA with 3.143 assists per game.  Palmer ranks fifth in school history with 56 games played.  Starter Thomas Hoenshell was 9^th in the NAIAwith only nine walks allowed all year.  Leadoff man Ty Holm was 36^th in the country in steals (28) and 33^rd in triples (5).  He is eighth in school history after playing in 54 games and sixth with 52 runs scored.  His five triples rank ninth on the CU single-season rankings and his 28 swiped bags are second.  Senior bullpen man Josh White was 36^th in the NAIA with six saves, which was good for third on the CU single-season lists.  Sean Buford was right behind him with five saves, good for 48^th in the nation.  His 23 appearances are 10^th on the CU single-season rankings.  His .875 winning percentage is third on the CU rankings and his five saves are fifth.

Josh White

"I've played with a great group of guys here at Concordia, it was a lot of fun, and they are great friends for life," Josh White said.

Junior All-GSAC honoree Ryan DiMascio hit .323 in 46 games with five home runs, 12 doubles, two triples, and 38 RBI from his third base position.  Sophomore pitcher Andrew Brooks was selected Capital One Academic All-District and pitched very well down the stretch for the Eagles to finish with a 4.17 ERA in 41 innings pitched.

Senior Brent Clapper ranks eighth on the CU single-season rankings with 14 starts, fifth with 104.2 innings pitched, ninth with 66 K's, and 10^th with a .700 winning percentage.  Senior Thomas Hoenshell is 14^th with 13 starts, fifth with eight wins, and fourth with a .800 winning percentage.

CU pitchers dot the Concordia career rankings as well.  Josh White finishes sixth all-time with 53 appearances and second with nine saves.  Brent Clapper is seventh with 28 starts, sixth with 194.1 innings pitched, fourth with 16 wins, and fourth with a .696 winning percentage.  Sean Buford currently leads with a .909 winning percentage and is seventh with five saves. 

Head coach Mike Grahovac, 2011 NAIA Coach of the Year, has had six All-GSAC selections, six gold glove honorees, one NAIA All-American, and five All-Tournament selections in his four years at Concordia.  Grahovac won his 100^th game on February 23 against San Diego Christian in a 5-4 win at home.  In four short years, he has transformed a program happy to advance to the NAIA Tournament to a national championship contender on a yearly basis.  He now has a career record at CU of 130-87 with two GSAC Tournament Championships, One NAIA Opening Round Title, and one NAIA National Championship.

Concordia started the season #2 in the nation with 10 first-place votes.  They never fell farther than 14^th, but hovered around the 11^th spot for the majority of the year.  CU finished the year #16 in the nation.

Final NAIA Poll

The Eagles started the season 3-0, but dropped four-straight games to NCAA Division II schools Cal State LA and Cal Poly Pomona.  The team was 3-4, but those challenging games against NCAA schools were extremely important to the development of the team.  CU responded by winning 10 of their next 11 games to improve to 13-5 and 7-1 in the GSAC.  They took three-out-of-four from San Diego Christian and swept local rival Vanguard in a four-game series.  The Eagles outscored their opponents 113-49 in that stretch, including a 20-6 win at Vanguard on March 2.

They won two-out-of-three from (RV) CSU San Marcos, split a four-game series with (RV) Point Loma Nazarene, and swept a two-game series from visiting Sioux Falls to go to 19-8, and 9-3 in conference.  CU opened a four-gamer with (RV) Azusa Pacific on March 22.  They Eagles took the opener on Ryan Scornaienchi's walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to prevail 8-7.  Unfortunately, Concordia dropped the next three games to APU, giving them the edge in the regular-season standings.  CU had a chance to win in every game, including a 13-inning affair on March 23 where they had many opportunities to end it.  The Eagles learned from those losses and would get their revenge on the Cougars later in the year.

Concordia showed great resolve, bouncing back with a four-game sweep of (RV) Biola and taking one-of-two on the road against NCAA Division II member California Baptist.  They split four games with Westmont, March 7-10, and turned around to take three-out-of-four from (16) The Master's, March 19-21.  CU finished the season strong, winning three-out-of-four against (RV) Fresno Pacific to finish the regular season 33-16 and 22-10 in conference.  The Eagles won or split 13 of their 16 series in 2012.

CU opened the GSAC Conference Tournament at Azusa Pacific University against a (RV) Fresno Pacific team they had just played four straight times the previous weekend.  As expected it was a battle, but starter Brent Clapper went 10 innings, striking out 11 while only allowing two runs.  Spencer Ofelt drove a walk-off RBI single up the middle to win 3-2 in 10 innings.  The next night against (RV) The Master's, CU starter Thomas Hoenshell went nine innings, striking out a career-high 10 in his first shutout of the year.  Dave Peterson hit two home runs and Aaron Gates smashed one as CU won 6-0.  The Eagles faced Westmont in the semifinals.  CU starter Jake Hovis pitched six effective innings and bullpen men Josh White and Sean Buford were solid in relief.  Chris Kuber went two-for-three with two RBI and a home run, and Concordia advanced with a 6-4 win.  In the championship the Eagles got the chance to avenge their three losses to #4 APU earlier in the year.  Andrew Brooks started for Concordia, going seven innings allowing four runs and Sean Buford allowed two runs in the final two innings.  Ryan DiMascio's go-ahead sac fly in the eighth inning made it 7-6 Eagles, and Buford closed down the ninth.  Aaron Gates hit two home runs for four RBI as CU won its second-straight GSAC Conference Tournament.

Concordia received the #1 seed for the NAIA Opening Round in Marion, IN.  CU led Doane College (NE) 3-1 entering the ninth inning in the first round, but allowed three runs across late to lose 3-4 in heartbreaking fashion.  Bumped to the loser-out bracket, CU battled local team Taylor (IN) on Friday night, May 11.  CU started Thomas Hoenshell threw 148 pitches in a nine-inning complete-game effort.  He struck out eight, while only allowing two runs and no walks.  Aaron Gates' RBI double in the seventh led CU to a 4-2 win.  CU got another chance at Doane on Saturday afternoon, May 12.  It was not to be though, as the Tigers prevailed 5-6 to end CU's season.  The highlight of the game for CU was Kyle Konicek's single through the right side in the first inning to break the school career mark with 248 hits.  Concordia threatened to come all the way back with runners in scoring position in the ninth, but couldn't get the big hit.

"Kyle Konicek was phenomenal player, leader, talker, and he's been with us from the beginning," Grahovac said.  "Josh White grew up as a man and baseball player, and was very dependable for four years.  Those are the type of guys we want in our program.  We have a lot of great guys coming back with good new recruits, and we are very excited."

Concordia says goodbye to seniors Kyle Konicek, Chris Lemus, Aaron Gates, Keith Murakami, Brent Clapper, Jake Hovis, Tony Harkey, Jr., Matt Stropoli, Ryan Scornaienchi, Josh White, and Thomas Hoenshell.  Konicek, Clapper, Hovis, Harkey, Scornaienchi, and White all leave the program as national champions.  Those seniors, along with many returning players, have seen Concordia turn into a perennial top-15 program and national contender for years to come.