Bornhauser Breaks Out In Final Season

Article reprinted courtesy of Fargo Forum and reporter Eric Peterson. Picture courtesy of Fargo Forum photographer Dave Samson.


MOORHEAD—Slowed by a nagging hamstring injury, Nick Bornhauser batted below .200 last season. The Concordia first baseman spent the offseason making sure that wouldn't happen again.

"This summer was kind of my saving grace for me," said Bornhauser, a senior from Northfield, Minn. "All I did was commit myself to working out."

Bornhauser changed his body composition, adding muscle to build his 6-foot frame to 190 pounds. He worked out two to three hours a day nearly every day for three consecutive months.

"He completely transformed himself," said Concordia senior Erik Hiedeman, who is also roommates with Bornhauser.

Bornhauser's transformation has translated into success on the baseball diamond. He's hitting .443 with 18 doubles, six home runs and 43 RBIs through 33 games. His 18 doubles are a single-season school record, and he's one RBI shy of tying the school single-season record in that category.

"We knew how good he could be," Cobbers head coach Chris Coste said. "The ability was always there, but when he added that man strength ... now those doubles turned into homers, those singles turned into doubles and so on."

The Cobbers (25-9) play St. John's at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the first round of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament in Minnetonka, Minn. Concordia is the No. 3 seed in the four-team, double-elimination MIAC tournament.

Bornhauser was the starting first baseman to start last season, but injured his hamstring on the team's Florida trip at the start of the season. He never felt completely healthy after that, batting .167 while playing in 21 games. Bornhauser had two extra-base hits and five RBIs.

"I kept getting injured and I was forcing myself to get back on the field too early," Bornhauser said. "It was really frustrating."

That frustration continued after Bornhauser went home for the summer. He was playing amateur baseball for Northfield, and again injured his hamstring a few games into the season. Bornhauser decided at that point it would be better to get into the gym and focus on building his strength and getting healthy. So he didn't play baseball the rest of the summer.

"I had a negative attitude I was bringing toward the game," said Bornhauser, who bats and throws left-handed.

Bornhauser lifted weights with other baseball players from his hometown area. He changed his swing and estimates he gained 10 or more pounds of muscle in the offseason.

"I was a chubby 180 (pounds)," Bornhauser said with a laugh. "It was a pretty big transformation for me. I'm in a lot better shape."

Bornhauser looked and performed like a different player when he returned to Concordia and playing fall ball.

"In the fall, the ball was just exploding off his bat," Coste said.

During the season, Bornhauser has worked hard to keep his hamstring healthy. He normally spends at least an hour in the training room to prepare for practices and games.

"He has definitely put in the time and the work," said Hiedeman, who is from Breckenridge, Minn.

While Bornhauser expected to have a big final season with the Cobbers, he didn't expect he would be in position to break multiple single-season records. He has 91 total bases (sophomore Aaron Green has 92) entering the MIAC tournament, which is eight shy of the school record of 99. Coste set that mark in 1994.

"I am surprised by the numbers I have put up," Bornhauser said. "That wasn't even on my radar. It's really fun to have this type of year."