Gravdahl Headlines All-MIAC Winners

MOORHEAD, Minn. (5/14/19)---It was a banner day for freshman Andy Gravdahl and the pitching staff. Gravdahl was named the MIAC Rookie of the Year and three starting pitchers earned MIAC All-Conference honors.  

Joining Gravdahl in taking home conference postseason are pitchers Austin Ver Steeg, Ty Syverson and Cole Christensen who were named to the MIAC All-Conference Team and Grant Toivonen who was placed on the All-Defensive Team.

Senior Nate Hoeft was the team's selection to the MIAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

Gravdahl becomes the first Concordia to be named MIAC Rookie of the Year since the league started the award in 2009.

Gravdahl led the team in hitting in both overall and conference games. He had a .311 average in the 36 overall games he played and upped that total to .348 in the 20 MIAC contests. Gravdahl also led the team in hits (13) and runs (13) and was second in at bats (69), total bases (30), slugging percentage (.435), OPS (.810) and stolen bases (3) against conference opponents.

Gravdahl had at least one hit in 14 of the 20 MIAC games and recorded a team-high nine multiple-hit games. He had a season-high three hits against Hamline and put up a season-best three RBI the very next game at St. Olaf.            

Ver Steeg earns his second consecutive All-MIAC award. He led the Cobber starting pitchers in earned run average for the second straight year. Ver Steeg finished with a 1.41 ERA in all games and a 1.42 mark in conference play. He led all MIAC pitchers in ERA in overall games and was second in league play.

Ver Steeg started five conference games and went 3-2. He pitched 31.2 innings in league play and struck out 28 batters while only allowing 23 hits. Ver Steeg didn't allow more than two runs in any of his five starts and hurled shutouts against St. Thomas and St. Olaf.        

Syverson was right behind Ver Steeg in ERA in both overall and conference games. Syverson had a 2.02 ERA in all games and came away with a 1.59 ERA in four MIAC contests. Both of his ERA totals are bests for a single season. He was 2-2 in league play and pitched 34.0 innings. Syverson recorded 27 Ks and only allowed 22 hits.

Syverson didn't give up more than two earned runs in any of his four MIAC starts and recorded a shutout against Bethel. He was third in the MIAC in ERA for league games.  

Christensen had his best conference season as he led the team in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts and was third in ERA in MIAC games. Christensen went 4-2 in the conference and compiled a 2.81 ERA. He amassed a career-high 40 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched.

Christensen was tied for second in the MIAC in wins, was second in strikeouts, third in innings pitched and 12th in ERA.

Christensen went 8.0 innings in three games in the MIAC and struck out at least six batters in four of his six league starts. Christensen's top performance came against Augsburg when he pitched an 8-inning shutout and struck out a career-high 12 batters. He was named the MIAC Pitcher of the Week for his performance against Augsburg.

Toivonen becomes the first Cobber player to earn conference All-Defensive Team honors since Phil Kuball won the award in 2015.

Toivonen start all 20 MIAC games at second base and helped the Cobbers lead the conference in fielding percentage in league play. Concordia committed a league-low 15 errors and had a .976 fielding percentage.

Toivonen had 67 total chances in the conference season and only committed one error. He recorded a .985 fielding percentage and helped turn eight double plays.

2019 MIAC Baseball Awards
Max Molock Player of the Year – Graham Low | Catcher | Macalester College (Sr. | Piedmont, Calif.)
Mike Augustin Pitcher of the Year – James Green | Pitcher | Saint Mary's University (So. | East Bethel, Minn. | St. Francis)
Rookie of the Year – Andy Gravdahl | Outfielder | Concordia College (Fr. | West Fargo, N.D.)
Jim Dimick Coach of the Year – Brad Baker | Gustavus Adolphus College (Fifth Season)