Friday, April 24
Fargo, N.D.
6:30 p.m.
North Dakota State
vs
Western Illinois
Photo by: Richard Svaleson
NDSU Baseball Faces Western Illinois in Key Summit League Series Starting Friday
4/23/2015 3:03:00 PM | Baseball
Complete Game Notes (PDF) | Western Illinois Game Notes
Live Stats: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Live Video (all games)
THIS WEEKEND: The North Dakota State University baseball team (10-24, 4-14 Summit League) will battle the Western Illinois Leathernecks (10-25, 5-13 Summit League) in a key three-game Summit League series starting with a single game on Friday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m. at Newman Outdoor Field. The second game of the series is slated for Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m., while the series finale is scheduled for Sunday, April 26, at 1 p.m.
THE SERIES: The three-game series against WIU will mark meetings 46-48 in the all-time series. The Bison trail Western Illinois in the series, 20-25, after dropping two of three games in Macomb earlier this season March 27-29. Last season in Fargo, the Bison took three of four games from the Leathernecks.
SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS: Western Illinois enters Friday with an overall record of 10-25 and a Summit League mark of 5-13 after dropping a non-league game at Bradley University on Wednesday, 4-0. Through 35 games, Jake Moore (.282, 33 H, 4 2B, 4 HR, 18 RBI, .419 SLG%) leads the Leathernecks in the batter's box, while Adam McGinnis (7 SB) is one of five Western Illinois players with at least four stolen bases on the season. WIU is hitting only .230 this season, compared to .282 for its adversaries. The Leathernecks are scheduled to throw RHP Joe Mortillaro (2-4, 4.97 ERA, 50.2 IP, 57 H, 36 R, 28 ER, 29 BB, 42 SO) Friday, LHP Tom Constand (2-5, 4.62 ERA, 1 CG, 48.2 IP, 47 H, 31 R, 25 ER, 29 BB, 44 SO) Saturday and LHP J.T. Baksha (2-3, 5.10 ERA, 1 SV, 30.0 IP, 25 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 12 BB, 25 SO) Sunday. Western Illinois is under the direction of third season head coach Ryan Brownlee.
CATCHING UP WITH THE BISON: North Dakota State enters Friday's series opener with Western Illinois at 10-24 overall and 4-14 in Summit League competition after rallying to defeat North Dakota, 4-2, in a non-league contest on Wednesday. Through 34 games, Ben Petersen (.348, 40 H, 6 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 3 SB), Taylor Sanders (.333, 31 H, 7 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI), John Skrbec (.272, 31 H, 9 2B, 5 HR, 26 RBI, .482 SLG%, 20 BB), Paul Funk (.266, 25 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 13 RBI, 14 BB) and Juan Gamez (.258, 25 H, 3 2B, 6 HR, 22 RBI) lead the Bison at the plate, while Drew Fearing leads NDSU on the base paths with five stolen bases. As a team, NDSU is hitting .250, compared to .292 for its opponents. On the mound, RHP Brian VanderWoude leads the Bison and The Summit League with a 2.08 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched. VanderWoude has surrendered just eight earned runs on 28 hits while striking out 36 and walking only 13 batters.
CLUTCH HITTING: Freshman Drew Fearing delivered what proved to be the game-winning hit in the bottom of the eighth inning against North Dakota Wednesday night. The Osakis, Minn., native smacked a two RBI single to left field with two outs and the bases loaded, giving the Bison an eventual 4-2 victory.
WALK-OFF WIN: David Ernst delivered a walk-off infield RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded to lift the Bison to a 7-6 win over Oral Roberts in game two of a Summit League doubleheader on Saturday, April 18, at Newman Outdoor Field. The victory snapped an eight-game winning streak for ORU and a six-game losing skid for the Bison.
CAREER-MILESTONE: Bison right-handed reliever Brian VanderWoude struck out a career-best seven batters in a career-high five-and two-thirds innings pitched in game one of a doubleheader against Oral Roberts on Saturday, April 18.
RECORD SETTER: Right-hander David Ernst became the career leader in starts at North Dakota State with 46 after starting on the mound at South Dakota State Friday, April 10. The Fargo native passed former Bison great Jake Laber, who made 45 starts from 2005-08.
POWER SURGE: NDSU junior catcher Juan Gamez has hit two grand slams so far this season. The Tucson, Ariz., native recorded his first grand slam against Kansas on Feb. 27, before delivering what proved to be the game-winning grand slam at Northern Colorado on March 7. Gamez leads NDSU and is tied for The Summit League lead in round-trippers this season with six and ranks second on the team in RBI with 22.
POSITION DEPTH TO BE TESTED: The Bison 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, junior shortstop Aiden Hook and junior left fielder Jon Hechtner are the lone returning position starters for the Bison.
NEW FACES: Seven freshmen and seven transfers make up the 14 total newcomers joining the Bison this season. New freshmen include Brayden Resch (C/UTIL), Drew Fearing (INF), Mason Pierzchalski (INF), Jayse McLean (OF), Joe Vacinek (RHP), Colin Baumgard (RHP) and Blake Stockert (RHP). The new transfers are Danny Regan (INF/OF), Juan Gamez (C/UTIL), JT Core (C/UTIL), JD Larimer (INF), Taylor Sanders (C/OF), Riley Horn (LHP) and Nick Salentine (RHP/INF).
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 176-218 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:
Live Stats: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Live Video (all games)
THIS WEEKEND: The North Dakota State University baseball team (10-24, 4-14 Summit League) will battle the Western Illinois Leathernecks (10-25, 5-13 Summit League) in a key three-game Summit League series starting with a single game on Friday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m. at Newman Outdoor Field. The second game of the series is slated for Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m., while the series finale is scheduled for Sunday, April 26, at 1 p.m.
THE SERIES: The three-game series against WIU will mark meetings 46-48 in the all-time series. The Bison trail Western Illinois in the series, 20-25, after dropping two of three games in Macomb earlier this season March 27-29. Last season in Fargo, the Bison took three of four games from the Leathernecks.
SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS: Western Illinois enters Friday with an overall record of 10-25 and a Summit League mark of 5-13 after dropping a non-league game at Bradley University on Wednesday, 4-0. Through 35 games, Jake Moore (.282, 33 H, 4 2B, 4 HR, 18 RBI, .419 SLG%) leads the Leathernecks in the batter's box, while Adam McGinnis (7 SB) is one of five Western Illinois players with at least four stolen bases on the season. WIU is hitting only .230 this season, compared to .282 for its adversaries. The Leathernecks are scheduled to throw RHP Joe Mortillaro (2-4, 4.97 ERA, 50.2 IP, 57 H, 36 R, 28 ER, 29 BB, 42 SO) Friday, LHP Tom Constand (2-5, 4.62 ERA, 1 CG, 48.2 IP, 47 H, 31 R, 25 ER, 29 BB, 44 SO) Saturday and LHP J.T. Baksha (2-3, 5.10 ERA, 1 SV, 30.0 IP, 25 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 12 BB, 25 SO) Sunday. Western Illinois is under the direction of third season head coach Ryan Brownlee.
CATCHING UP WITH THE BISON: North Dakota State enters Friday's series opener with Western Illinois at 10-24 overall and 4-14 in Summit League competition after rallying to defeat North Dakota, 4-2, in a non-league contest on Wednesday. Through 34 games, Ben Petersen (.348, 40 H, 6 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 3 SB), Taylor Sanders (.333, 31 H, 7 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI), John Skrbec (.272, 31 H, 9 2B, 5 HR, 26 RBI, .482 SLG%, 20 BB), Paul Funk (.266, 25 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 13 RBI, 14 BB) and Juan Gamez (.258, 25 H, 3 2B, 6 HR, 22 RBI) lead the Bison at the plate, while Drew Fearing leads NDSU on the base paths with five stolen bases. As a team, NDSU is hitting .250, compared to .292 for its opponents. On the mound, RHP Brian VanderWoude leads the Bison and The Summit League with a 2.08 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched. VanderWoude has surrendered just eight earned runs on 28 hits while striking out 36 and walking only 13 batters.
CLUTCH HITTING: Freshman Drew Fearing delivered what proved to be the game-winning hit in the bottom of the eighth inning against North Dakota Wednesday night. The Osakis, Minn., native smacked a two RBI single to left field with two outs and the bases loaded, giving the Bison an eventual 4-2 victory.
WALK-OFF WIN: David Ernst delivered a walk-off infield RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded to lift the Bison to a 7-6 win over Oral Roberts in game two of a Summit League doubleheader on Saturday, April 18, at Newman Outdoor Field. The victory snapped an eight-game winning streak for ORU and a six-game losing skid for the Bison.
CAREER-MILESTONE: Bison right-handed reliever Brian VanderWoude struck out a career-best seven batters in a career-high five-and two-thirds innings pitched in game one of a doubleheader against Oral Roberts on Saturday, April 18.
RECORD SETTER: Right-hander David Ernst became the career leader in starts at North Dakota State with 46 after starting on the mound at South Dakota State Friday, April 10. The Fargo native passed former Bison great Jake Laber, who made 45 starts from 2005-08.
POWER SURGE: NDSU junior catcher Juan Gamez has hit two grand slams so far this season. The Tucson, Ariz., native recorded his first grand slam against Kansas on Feb. 27, before delivering what proved to be the game-winning grand slam at Northern Colorado on March 7. Gamez leads NDSU and is tied for The Summit League lead in round-trippers this season with six and ranks second on the team in RBI with 22.
POSITION DEPTH TO BE TESTED: The Bison 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, junior shortstop Aiden Hook and junior left fielder Jon Hechtner are the lone returning position starters for the Bison.
NEW FACES: Seven freshmen and seven transfers make up the 14 total newcomers joining the Bison this season. New freshmen include Brayden Resch (C/UTIL), Drew Fearing (INF), Mason Pierzchalski (INF), Jayse McLean (OF), Joe Vacinek (RHP), Colin Baumgard (RHP) and Blake Stockert (RHP). The new transfers are Danny Regan (INF/OF), Juan Gamez (C/UTIL), JT Core (C/UTIL), JD Larimer (INF), Taylor Sanders (C/OF), Riley Horn (LHP) and Nick Salentine (RHP/INF).
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 176-218 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)
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