Friday, February 28
Murray, Ky.
2 p.m.
North Dakota State
at
Murray State
Photo by: Jim Trewin
Bison Seek First Win in Four-Game Series at Murray State
2/27/2014 11:00:00 AM | Baseball
North Dakota State (0-3) at Murray State (4-3)
2 p.m. Friday - Live Stats | Live Video
11:30 a.m. Saturday - Live Stats | Live Video
1:30 p.m. Saturday - Live Stats | Live Video
12 p.m. Sunday - Live Stats | Live Video
NDSU Baseball Notes (PDF)
THIS WEEK: The North Dakota State baseball team looks for its first win of the season this weekend when the Bison (0-3) play at Murray State (4-3). The four-game series is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday followed by an 11:30 a.m. doubleheader Saturday and the series finale 12 p.m. Sunday at Reagan Field (550) in Murray, Ky.
THE SERIES: Murray State has a 6-1 lead in the all-time series with North Dakota State winning 3 of 4 in 2009 and sweeping a three-game set in 2011 all in Murray. NDSU is 5-11 against Ohio Valley Conference teams after winning 2 of 3 at Southeast Missouri State last year.
ABOUT MURRAY STATE: The Thoroughbreds (4-3) close a nine-game home stand this weekend after winning 2 of 3 at home against Bowling Green last weekend and splitting a pair of midweek games with Mid-Continent University. Murray State was picked 10th out of 11 teams in the Ohio Valley Conference with just three starters back from last year's 21-33 team that placed 10th in the league. Leadoff man Ty Stetson has hit safely in all seven games and leads the Breds with a .583 batting average. Stetson is 14-for-24 with three extra-base hits and eight walks for a .697 on-base percentage and has reached base in 35 straight games. Head coach Rob McDonald has a 228-321-2 record in his 11th season at Murray State.
BISON SWEPT AT USC: Southern California needed a pair of walk-off victories Friday and Sunday to sweep a three-game series from North Dakota State last week in Los Angeles. The Trojans were down to their last strike in the opener before Timmy Robinson's single scored two runs for a 3-2 victory. USC won 9-0 on Saturday before getting a three-run walk-off homer in the 12th inning from Omar Cotto Lozada to win 5-3.
ERNST EXTENDS SCORELESS STREAK: Friday night starter David Ernst has pitched 21 consecutive scoreless innings after going seven innings with four hits, all singles, three walks and two strikeouts at USC. He pitched a two-hit shutout in the second round of last year's Summit League tournament and blanked Fort Wayne for the final five innings in his last regular season appearance of 2013.
COLWELL HITTING STREAK SNAPPED: Center fielder Tim Colwell went 2-for-4 in each of the first two games to extend his hitting streak to 14 games before going hitless in the series finale at Southern California. Colwell's 12-game streak to close the 2013 season was the longest hitting streak by a Bison player last year. He hit .354 over the final 12 games and finished ninth overall in The Summit League with a .304 season batting average.
PRESEASON PICKS: North Dakota State was picked third in The Summit League in a preseason poll of the league's five head coaches. Defending regular season champion Omaha was first, tournament champion South Dakota State was second, Western Illinois fourth and Fort Wayne fifth. NDSU, with 8 of 9 starters back from last year's 26-27 team, was picked as Baseball America's team to beat in its Summit League preview.
BISON RETURN EIGHT STARTERS: The top eight hitters from last year's postseason lineup return for North Dakota State led by a pair of first team All-Summit League players in outfielder Kyle Kleinendorst (.333) and second baseman Wes Satzinger (.307). Center fielder Tim Colwell (.304) and utility player Jon Hechtner (.269) were also first team all-league selections last year. Third baseman John Skrbec (.253) was a second team pick.
PITCHING DEPTH TO BE TESTED: North Dakota State has key spots to fill on the pitching mound with the loss of All-Summit League second-teamer and Texas Rangers draft pick John Straka, left-handed reliever Jake Heck, setup man Simon Anderson and closer Kyle Kingsley. Junior right-hander David Ernst will be the opening night starter followed by a pair of left-handers in GateWay CC transfer Trent Keefer and fellow junior Parker Trewin. Two starters from last year's rotation, right-handed juniors Jay Flaa and Trevor Jaunich, are front-runners to take over the closing role out of the bullpen.
NEW PITCHING COACH: Former Minnesota volunteer assistant Tyler Oakes has joined the North Dakota State staff as pitching coach replacing Jake Angier, who was hired as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Sacramento State in November. Oakes was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten performer at Minnesota, where his father Todd Oakes has been the longtime pitching coach. He spent two seasons at South Dakota State (2010-11) as a graduate assistant before returning to Minnesota (2012-13).
FOUR STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark four straight seasons and qualified for three straight Summit League tournaments reaching the championship game each of the past two years. This is NDSU's seventh season in The Summit League after three seasons as a Division I independent. The Summit League tournament is scheduled for May 22-24 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
THE SUMMIT LEAGUE: This is North Dakota State's seventh year in The Summit League, which has just five baseball teams for 2014 – NDSU, Fort Wayne, Omaha, South Dakota State and Western Illinois – after losing Oakland to the Horizon League. Denver, IUPUI and South Dakota do not have baseball. Oral Roberts, which won 15 straight league championships from 1998-2012, will return in 2015 after two years in the Southland Conference. Omaha, which won the regular season title in its first year of membership, is reclassifying from Division II and not eligible for postseason play until 2016.
THE COACH: North Dakota State head coach Tod Brown (Arizona, 1994) is in his seventh season with a 141-170 record, the second most wins in school history. Brown previously was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for eight seasons at Bowling Green, where he was part of two division titles and a regular-season title in the Mid-American Conference. Brown began his collegiate coaching career in 1999 as a volunteer assistant at Arizona. He was a left-handed pitcher for the Wildcats under Hall of Fame coach Jerry Kindall and a member of the 1992 Pac-10 champs.
2 p.m. Friday - Live Stats | Live Video
11:30 a.m. Saturday - Live Stats | Live Video
1:30 p.m. Saturday - Live Stats | Live Video
12 p.m. Sunday - Live Stats | Live Video
NDSU Baseball Notes (PDF)
THIS WEEK: The North Dakota State baseball team looks for its first win of the season this weekend when the Bison (0-3) play at Murray State (4-3). The four-game series is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday followed by an 11:30 a.m. doubleheader Saturday and the series finale 12 p.m. Sunday at Reagan Field (550) in Murray, Ky.
THE SERIES: Murray State has a 6-1 lead in the all-time series with North Dakota State winning 3 of 4 in 2009 and sweeping a three-game set in 2011 all in Murray. NDSU is 5-11 against Ohio Valley Conference teams after winning 2 of 3 at Southeast Missouri State last year.
ABOUT MURRAY STATE: The Thoroughbreds (4-3) close a nine-game home stand this weekend after winning 2 of 3 at home against Bowling Green last weekend and splitting a pair of midweek games with Mid-Continent University. Murray State was picked 10th out of 11 teams in the Ohio Valley Conference with just three starters back from last year's 21-33 team that placed 10th in the league. Leadoff man Ty Stetson has hit safely in all seven games and leads the Breds with a .583 batting average. Stetson is 14-for-24 with three extra-base hits and eight walks for a .697 on-base percentage and has reached base in 35 straight games. Head coach Rob McDonald has a 228-321-2 record in his 11th season at Murray State.
BISON SWEPT AT USC: Southern California needed a pair of walk-off victories Friday and Sunday to sweep a three-game series from North Dakota State last week in Los Angeles. The Trojans were down to their last strike in the opener before Timmy Robinson's single scored two runs for a 3-2 victory. USC won 9-0 on Saturday before getting a three-run walk-off homer in the 12th inning from Omar Cotto Lozada to win 5-3.
ERNST EXTENDS SCORELESS STREAK: Friday night starter David Ernst has pitched 21 consecutive scoreless innings after going seven innings with four hits, all singles, three walks and two strikeouts at USC. He pitched a two-hit shutout in the second round of last year's Summit League tournament and blanked Fort Wayne for the final five innings in his last regular season appearance of 2013.
COLWELL HITTING STREAK SNAPPED: Center fielder Tim Colwell went 2-for-4 in each of the first two games to extend his hitting streak to 14 games before going hitless in the series finale at Southern California. Colwell's 12-game streak to close the 2013 season was the longest hitting streak by a Bison player last year. He hit .354 over the final 12 games and finished ninth overall in The Summit League with a .304 season batting average.
PRESEASON PICKS: North Dakota State was picked third in The Summit League in a preseason poll of the league's five head coaches. Defending regular season champion Omaha was first, tournament champion South Dakota State was second, Western Illinois fourth and Fort Wayne fifth. NDSU, with 8 of 9 starters back from last year's 26-27 team, was picked as Baseball America's team to beat in its Summit League preview.
BISON RETURN EIGHT STARTERS: The top eight hitters from last year's postseason lineup return for North Dakota State led by a pair of first team All-Summit League players in outfielder Kyle Kleinendorst (.333) and second baseman Wes Satzinger (.307). Center fielder Tim Colwell (.304) and utility player Jon Hechtner (.269) were also first team all-league selections last year. Third baseman John Skrbec (.253) was a second team pick.
PITCHING DEPTH TO BE TESTED: North Dakota State has key spots to fill on the pitching mound with the loss of All-Summit League second-teamer and Texas Rangers draft pick John Straka, left-handed reliever Jake Heck, setup man Simon Anderson and closer Kyle Kingsley. Junior right-hander David Ernst will be the opening night starter followed by a pair of left-handers in GateWay CC transfer Trent Keefer and fellow junior Parker Trewin. Two starters from last year's rotation, right-handed juniors Jay Flaa and Trevor Jaunich, are front-runners to take over the closing role out of the bullpen.
NEW PITCHING COACH: Former Minnesota volunteer assistant Tyler Oakes has joined the North Dakota State staff as pitching coach replacing Jake Angier, who was hired as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Sacramento State in November. Oakes was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten performer at Minnesota, where his father Todd Oakes has been the longtime pitching coach. He spent two seasons at South Dakota State (2010-11) as a graduate assistant before returning to Minnesota (2012-13).
FOUR STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark four straight seasons and qualified for three straight Summit League tournaments reaching the championship game each of the past two years. This is NDSU's seventh season in The Summit League after three seasons as a Division I independent. The Summit League tournament is scheduled for May 22-24 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
THE SUMMIT LEAGUE: This is North Dakota State's seventh year in The Summit League, which has just five baseball teams for 2014 – NDSU, Fort Wayne, Omaha, South Dakota State and Western Illinois – after losing Oakland to the Horizon League. Denver, IUPUI and South Dakota do not have baseball. Oral Roberts, which won 15 straight league championships from 1998-2012, will return in 2015 after two years in the Southland Conference. Omaha, which won the regular season title in its first year of membership, is reclassifying from Division II and not eligible for postseason play until 2016.
THE COACH: North Dakota State head coach Tod Brown (Arizona, 1994) is in his seventh season with a 141-170 record, the second most wins in school history. Brown previously was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for eight seasons at Bowling Green, where he was part of two division titles and a regular-season title in the Mid-American Conference. Brown began his collegiate coaching career in 1999 as a volunteer assistant at Arizona. He was a left-handed pitcher for the Wildcats under Hall of Fame coach Jerry Kindall and a member of the 1992 Pac-10 champs.
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