Baseball | 2/12/2015 9:45:00 PM

Game 1: North Dakota State (0-0) at Grand Canyon (0-0)
Friday, Feb. 13 | 7 p.m. MT (8 p.m. CT)
Brazell Stadium | Phoenix, Ariz.
Live Stats | Live Audio

Game 2: North Dakota State vs. Bradley
Saturday, Feb. 14 | 1 p.m. MT (2 p.m. CT)
Brazell Stadium | Phoenix, Ariz.
Live Stats

Game 3: North Dakota State vs. Omaha
Sunday, Feb. 15 | 2 p.m. MT (3 p.m. CT)
Brazell Stadium | Phoenix, Ariz.
Live Stats

NDSU Notes (PDF)

NDSU baseball on Twitter: @NDSUbaseball

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THIS WEEK:  North Dakota State (0-0) begins its 79th season of baseball this weekend with a trio of games in Phoenix, Ariz., in the Grand Canyon University Classic. The Bison open the season Friday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. MT (8 p.m. CT) against the host Grand Canyon Antelopes before battling Bradley Saturday, Feb. 14, at 1 p.m. MT (2 p.m. CT). NDSU will close out the slate in Phoenix on Sunday, Feb. 15, with a non-league game against Omaha at 2 p.m. MT (3 p.m. CT).
 
THE SERIES:  Friday's season-opener at Grand Canyon will mark the first-ever meeting between the Bison and Antelopes on the diamond ... Saturday's contest against Bradley will be the third meeting all-time. The Bison trail the Braves in the series, 0-2-0. The last time the two programs met was in 2011. ... Sunday's game against Omaha will be the 52nd meeting all-time. NDSU leads UNO in the series, 29-23. ... Last season, the Bison posted a 3-2 record against Omaha, dropping two games in Fargo April 12 before winning three of four in Omaha April 25-26.
 
POSITION DEPTH TO BE TESTED: The Bison will have key spots to fill in the lineup after the departure of Summit League Player of the Year Tim Colwell and fellow All-Summit League performers Michael Leach, Kyle Kleinendorst and Wes Satzinger. Senior third baseman John Skrbec (.189), junior shortstop Aiden Hook (.256) and junior left fielder Jon Hechtner (.278) are the lone returning position starters for the Bison. 
 
VETERAN PITCHING STAFF RETURNS FOR BISON: The Bison return three starters and five relievers from last season's Summit League tournament championship team. Senior right-hander David Ernst, who was selected All-Summit League second team last season after compiling a 3.30 ERA with 43 strikeouts in a team-high 95.0 innings-pitched, will get the ball to open the 2015 campaign on Friday night at Grand Canyon, while senior southpaw Parker Trewin is slated to pitch against Bradley in  Phoenix on Saturday. Trewin, an All-Summit League second team honoree, went a team-best 7-3 on the mound with a team-low 2.57 ERA in 77.0 innings of work last season. He led the Bison with 68 strikeouts and held opposing batters to a team-low .225 average. Sunday's starter for the non-league game against Omaha in Phoenix is slated to be senior left-hander Trent Keefer, who went 4-5 with a 5.34 ERA in 57.1 innings-pitched with 54 strikeouts last season. Sophomore right-hander Reed Pfannenstein will also vie for a spot in the rotation this season. Pfannenstein, the 2014 Summit League tournament MVP, posted a 4-1 record with a 2.86 ERA in 13 appearances and six starts. He fanned 28 batters in 44 innings of work and held opposing batters to a .244 average.  Senior right-hander Trevor Jaunich, who was named All-Summit League second team in 2014 after compiling a team-high seven saves with 31 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.18, returns to the closing role for the Bison in 2015.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Grand Canyon - The Antelopes finished the 2014 season with an overall record of 30-23 and placed second in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with a record of 19-8. The Lopes welcome back eight of their nine starting position players and all of their starting pitchers from the 2014 team, including infielder Chad De La Guerra, who was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year after batting .373 with 78 hits, 12 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 49 RBI last season. Leading GCU on the mound is left-hander Andrew Naderer, who posted a 9-3 record with an ERA of 3.26 in 2014. He allowed 36 earned runs in 99.1 innings-pitched with 61 strikeouts and held opposing batters to a .232 average. ... Bradley - The Braves finished 2014 with an overall record of 24-27 and finished seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference with a record of 5-16. Bradley welcomes back six of nine position players, led by infielder Tyler Leffler, who hit a team-high .354 with 64 hits, 13 doubles, one triple, two homers and 29 RBI. On the mound, the Braves welcome back 11 pitchers, paced by right-hander Elliot Ashbeck, who tallied a 2.57 ERA in 73.2 innings of work. Ashbeck went 6-3 overall in 12 appearances and 11 starts, allowing 21 earned runs on 69 hits while striking out 46 and walking 15. ... Omaha - The Mavericks completed the 2014 season with an overall record of 15-9 and captured The Summit League regular season title for the second consecutive season with a league record of 15-9. UNO returns five of nine position starters, including infielder Clayton Taylor, who hit .326 with 29 hits, eight doubles, five home runs and 21 RBI, and outfielder Cole Gruber, who stole a team-and Summit League-high 34 bases in 2014. On the mound, Omaha returns reigning Summit League Pitcher of the Year Tyler Fox. Last season, Fox went 9-1 and posted an ERA of 2.29 in 78.2 innings-pitched. He allowed just 20 earned runs on 65 hits while compiling 57 strikeouts and just 17 walks. Fox held opposing batters to a .223 average. 
 
FIVE CONSECUTIVE 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark five straight seasons. The Bison have qualified for four straight Summit League tournaments, winning the tournament championship last season and reaching the championship game each of the past three seasons. This is NDSU's eighth season in The Summit League after three seasons as a Division I independent.
 
PRESEASON PICKS:  Defending Summit League tournament champion North Dakota State was picked to finish fourth in The Summit League in a preseason poll of the league's six head coaches. For the second consecutive season, Omaha was tabbed to claim its third straight Summit League regular season baseball title. The Mavs received three of six first-place votes and a total of 23 points. Oral Roberts placed second with the other three first-place votes and 21 points. South Dakota State came in third with 17 points followed by the Bison with 15 points. Western Illinois (8 points) and Fort Wayne (6 points) rounded out the poll.
 
THE SUMMIT LEAGUE: This is North Dakota State's eighth year in The Summit League, which has six baseball teams for 2015 – NDSU, Fort Wayne, Omaha, Oral Roberts, 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, returns to the league this season after competing in the Southland Conference the past two years.
 
THE COACH:  North Dakota State head coach Tod Brown (Arizona, 1994) is in his eighth season with a 166-193 record.  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.
 
THE TOD BROWN FILE:
- 2014 Summit League tournament champions
- 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament Corvallis Regional qualifiers              
- Won school-record 40 games in 2012
- Three straight Summit League championship game appearances
- Four consecutive Summit League tournament appearances
- Winning percentage of .518 the past four seasons
- 16 All-Summit League honorees, six first team selections
- 14 players who signed professional contracts
- Coached three NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients: Wes Satzinger (2014), John Straka (2013) and Kole Zimmerman (2008)