Tuesday, May 5
Fargo, N.D.
6:30 p.m.
North Dakota State
vs
Minnesota
Photo by: Bob Nelson
NDSU Baseball Hosts Minnesota on Tuesday Evening at Newman Outdoor Field
5/4/2015 5:07:00 PM | Baseball
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Live Stats
Live Video
THE GAME: After completing a series sweep against Fort Wayne May 1-3, the North Dakota State University baseball team (16-26, 8-16 Summit League) will host Big Ten foe Minnesota (19-25, 7-11 Big Ten) on Tuesday, May 5, at 6:30 p.m. at Newman Outdoor Field.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Live stats and live video will be available for the contest at GoBison.com. Live updates will also be available via the NDSU baseball Twitter account (@NDSUbaseball).
THE SERIES: Tuesday's game against the Golden Gophers will mark the 33rd meeting in the all-time series. Minnesota leads the series, 25-7, and has won the last five meetings, including a 13-5 win in Minneapolis on April 14. NDSU's last win over Minnesota was a 6-5 triumph in Minneapolis during the 2012 season. Tuesday's game will be the first game against the Golden Gophers in Fargo since the 2012 season.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA: The Golden Gophers are 19-25 overall and 7-11 in Big Ten play entering Tuesday's game against the Bison. Through 44 contests, Minnesota is led at the plate by Michael Handel (.327, 49 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 28 RBI), Matt Fiedler (.304, 51 H, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 18 BB, 14 SB) and Dan Motl (.336, 37 H, 8 2B, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 11 SB). Right-handed pitcher Toby Anderson (1-0, 4.46 ERA, 34.1 IP, 34 H, 20 R, 17 ER, 15 BB, 16 SO, .256 OBA) is slated to start on the mound against the Bison Tuesday. The Golden Gophers are hitting .259 as a team and have a .971 fielding percentage to go along with a 5.38 team ERA. Minnesota is under the direction of head coach John Anderson, who is in his 34th season.
CATCHING UP WITH THE BISON: The Bison are 16-26 overall and 8-16 in Summit League play after sweeping a three-game series against Fort Wayne May 1-3 at Newman Outdoor Field, extending their season-best winning streak to six games. Through 42 games, Ben Petersen (.342, 50 H, 6 2B, 3 HR, 19 RBI, .445 SLG%, 5 SB), Taylor Sanders (.353, 36 H, 8 2B, 1 HR, 17 RBI, .461 SLG%) and JT Core (.313, 25 H, 6 2B, 15 RBI) lead the Bison in the batter's box. RHP Reed Pfannenstein (1-6, 7.28 ERA, 38.1 IP, 50 H, 35 R, 31 ER, 24 BB, 29 SO, .325 OBA) is slated to tow the rubber for the Bison against the Golden Gophers Tuesday evening. As a team, the Bison are hitting .265 and have a .951 fielding percentage to go along with a 5.28 team ERA.
ERNST NAMED SUMMIT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP David Ernst was named The Summit League Pitcher of the Week for his performance April 27-May 3. Ernst gathered his first Pitcher of the Week award this season, and third of his career, after a complete game victory to conclude North Dakota State's series sweep of Fort Wayne. In the 2-1 win on Sunday, he yielded just three hits, two walks, and one earned run while fanning a season-high six batters. Ernst also threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts in NDSU's mid-week non-league victory over Mayville State. For the week, he registered a 0.82 ERA with nine strikeouts in 11.0 innings of work while surrendering just five hits over that span.
BISON IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE STATS: Entering Tuesday - Taylor Sanders (.353) ranks fourth and Ben Petersen (.342) ranks eight in The Summit League individual batting statistics ... RHP Brian VanderWoude leads the league in individual pitching with a 2.42 ERA in 13 games ... Juan Gamez ranks second in home runs with seven in 39 games ... Danny Regan is fifth in triples with two in 37 games ... Drew Fearing ranks fourth in stolen bases with nine in 33 games (.27/game) ... John Skrbec is seventh in walks with 24 in 42 games (.57/game), while Regan is ninth with 21 free passes in 37 contests (.57/game) ... Gamez is 10th in slugging percentage at .467 in 122 at bats ... RHP David Ernst ranks eighth in innings pitched at 67.0 ... VanderWoude is fourth in strikeouts with 43 in 13 games (8.66/game) ... Ernst leads the league in starts with 13 and is tied for first in complete game with two ... LHP Trent Keefer and LHP Parker Trewin are tied for third in complete games with one each ... VanderWoude is tied for second in opponent batting average at .236.
CONSISTENCY AT THE PLATE: Freshman infielder Drew Fearing hit .389 in five games last week, going 7-for-18 at the plate. The Osakis, Minn., native went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, two runs scored, two walks and a stolen base in the 6-4 series-opening win over Fort Wayne on Friday.
WORKING THE COUNT: John Skrbec leads the Bison and is seventh in The Summit League in walks with 24 in 42 games. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native has 76 career free passes, tying him for second in the NDSU career record books.
POWER SURGE: Juan Gamez leads the Bison and is tied for the Summit League lead in home runs through 39 games with seven. Two of Gamez's homers have been grand slams.
STELLAR OUTING: Bison right-handed reliever Brian VanderWoude improved to 3-1 overall after pitching five innings in NDSU's 6-4 win over Fort Wayne on Friday, May 1. The Burnsville, Minn., native surrendered no earned runs on six hits while recording four strikeouts and two walks.
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. Entering Tuesday's game with Minnesota, Ernst has 50 career starts.
SWINGING FOR THE FENCES: NDSU and its opponents have hit a combined 11 home runs at Newman Outdoor Field this season. The Bison have three round-trippers at home, while their adversaries have eight. That's a stark comparison to last season, when only one ball was hit out of the park.
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 COACH: North Dakota State head coach Tod Brown (Arizona, 1994) is in his eighth season with a 182-220 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
Live Video
THE GAME: After completing a series sweep against Fort Wayne May 1-3, the North Dakota State University baseball team (16-26, 8-16 Summit League) will host Big Ten foe Minnesota (19-25, 7-11 Big Ten) on Tuesday, May 5, at 6:30 p.m. at Newman Outdoor Field.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Live stats and live video will be available for the contest at GoBison.com. Live updates will also be available via the NDSU baseball Twitter account (@NDSUbaseball).
THE SERIES: Tuesday's game against the Golden Gophers will mark the 33rd meeting in the all-time series. Minnesota leads the series, 25-7, and has won the last five meetings, including a 13-5 win in Minneapolis on April 14. NDSU's last win over Minnesota was a 6-5 triumph in Minneapolis during the 2012 season. Tuesday's game will be the first game against the Golden Gophers in Fargo since the 2012 season.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA: The Golden Gophers are 19-25 overall and 7-11 in Big Ten play entering Tuesday's game against the Bison. Through 44 contests, Minnesota is led at the plate by Michael Handel (.327, 49 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 28 RBI), Matt Fiedler (.304, 51 H, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 18 BB, 14 SB) and Dan Motl (.336, 37 H, 8 2B, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 11 SB). Right-handed pitcher Toby Anderson (1-0, 4.46 ERA, 34.1 IP, 34 H, 20 R, 17 ER, 15 BB, 16 SO, .256 OBA) is slated to start on the mound against the Bison Tuesday. The Golden Gophers are hitting .259 as a team and have a .971 fielding percentage to go along with a 5.38 team ERA. Minnesota is under the direction of head coach John Anderson, who is in his 34th season.
CATCHING UP WITH THE BISON: The Bison are 16-26 overall and 8-16 in Summit League play after sweeping a three-game series against Fort Wayne May 1-3 at Newman Outdoor Field, extending their season-best winning streak to six games. Through 42 games, Ben Petersen (.342, 50 H, 6 2B, 3 HR, 19 RBI, .445 SLG%, 5 SB), Taylor Sanders (.353, 36 H, 8 2B, 1 HR, 17 RBI, .461 SLG%) and JT Core (.313, 25 H, 6 2B, 15 RBI) lead the Bison in the batter's box. RHP Reed Pfannenstein (1-6, 7.28 ERA, 38.1 IP, 50 H, 35 R, 31 ER, 24 BB, 29 SO, .325 OBA) is slated to tow the rubber for the Bison against the Golden Gophers Tuesday evening. As a team, the Bison are hitting .265 and have a .951 fielding percentage to go along with a 5.28 team ERA.
ERNST NAMED SUMMIT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE WEEK: RHP David Ernst was named The Summit League Pitcher of the Week for his performance April 27-May 3. Ernst gathered his first Pitcher of the Week award this season, and third of his career, after a complete game victory to conclude North Dakota State's series sweep of Fort Wayne. In the 2-1 win on Sunday, he yielded just three hits, two walks, and one earned run while fanning a season-high six batters. Ernst also threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts in NDSU's mid-week non-league victory over Mayville State. For the week, he registered a 0.82 ERA with nine strikeouts in 11.0 innings of work while surrendering just five hits over that span.
BISON IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE STATS: Entering Tuesday - Taylor Sanders (.353) ranks fourth and Ben Petersen (.342) ranks eight in The Summit League individual batting statistics ... RHP Brian VanderWoude leads the league in individual pitching with a 2.42 ERA in 13 games ... Juan Gamez ranks second in home runs with seven in 39 games ... Danny Regan is fifth in triples with two in 37 games ... Drew Fearing ranks fourth in stolen bases with nine in 33 games (.27/game) ... John Skrbec is seventh in walks with 24 in 42 games (.57/game), while Regan is ninth with 21 free passes in 37 contests (.57/game) ... Gamez is 10th in slugging percentage at .467 in 122 at bats ... RHP David Ernst ranks eighth in innings pitched at 67.0 ... VanderWoude is fourth in strikeouts with 43 in 13 games (8.66/game) ... Ernst leads the league in starts with 13 and is tied for first in complete game with two ... LHP Trent Keefer and LHP Parker Trewin are tied for third in complete games with one each ... VanderWoude is tied for second in opponent batting average at .236.
CONSISTENCY AT THE PLATE: Freshman infielder Drew Fearing hit .389 in five games last week, going 7-for-18 at the plate. The Osakis, Minn., native went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, two runs scored, two walks and a stolen base in the 6-4 series-opening win over Fort Wayne on Friday.
WORKING THE COUNT: John Skrbec leads the Bison and is seventh in The Summit League in walks with 24 in 42 games. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native has 76 career free passes, tying him for second in the NDSU career record books.
POWER SURGE: Juan Gamez leads the Bison and is tied for the Summit League lead in home runs through 39 games with seven. Two of Gamez's homers have been grand slams.
STELLAR OUTING: Bison right-handed reliever Brian VanderWoude improved to 3-1 overall after pitching five innings in NDSU's 6-4 win over Fort Wayne on Friday, May 1. The Burnsville, Minn., native surrendered no earned runs on six hits while recording four strikeouts and two walks.
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. Entering Tuesday's game with Minnesota, Ernst has 50 career starts.
SWINGING FOR THE FENCES: NDSU and its opponents have hit a combined 11 home runs at Newman Outdoor Field this season. The Bison have three round-trippers at home, while their adversaries have eight. That's a stark comparison to last season, when only one ball was hit out of the park.
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 COACH: North Dakota State head coach Tod Brown (Arizona, 1994) is in his eighth season with a 182-220 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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