NDSU Baseball Hosts First-Place Oral Roberts April 29 - May 1

Friday, April 29

Fargo, N.D.

6:30 p.m.

North Dakota State

Oral Roberts

Photo by: Richard Svaleson

NDSU Baseball Hosts First-Place Oral Roberts April 29 - May 1

4/28/2016 10:49:00 AM | Baseball

Game 1: North Dakota State vs. Oral Roberts
Friday, April 29 | 6:30 p.m.
Newman Outdoor Field | Fargo, N.D.
Live Stats

Game 2: North Dakota State vs. Oral Roberts
Saturday, April 30 | 1 p.m.
Newman Outdoor Field | Fargo, N.D.
Live Stats

Game 3: North Dakota State vs. Oral Roberts
Sunday, May 1 | 1 p.m.
Newman Outdoor Field | Fargo, N.D.
Live Stats

NOTE: Game dates and times are subject to change

NDSU Notes (PDF) | Live Video (all games)

NDSU baseball on Twitter: @NDSUbaseball

            SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team (21-18, 7-11 Summit League) hosts the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles (25-13, 14-4 Summit League) in a three-game Summit League series April 29 through May 1 at Newman Outdoor Field. The series opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 29, with the second and third contests slated for 1 p.m. Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1.

            MEDIA COVERAGE: Live statistics and live video will be available for all three games this weekend. For links, please visit www.GoBison.com.

            SERIES RECORD: This weekend's three games against the Golden Eagles will mark meetings 32-34 in the all-time series ... Oral Roberts leads the series, 23-8, after sweeping the Bison in a three-game series earlier this season in Tulsa, Okla.

            CATCHING UP WITH THE BISON: North Dakota State enters the weekend at 21-18 overall and 7-11 in Summit League play after defeating 19th-ranked Minnesota in a non-league game Tuesday in Fargo, 7-4 ... Through 39 games, North Dakota State is led offensively by infielders Drew Fearing (.336, 48 H, 33 R, 8 2B, 1 3B, 25 RBI, 18 BB, 14 SB) and Brayden Resch (.297, 41 H, 24 R, 8 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 25 BB), designated hitter Taylor Sanders (.287, 27 H, 6 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 7 BB, 2 SF), and outfielder Ben Petersen (.259, 35 H, 26 R, 6 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 24 RBI, 17 BB, 12 SB) ... On the mound through 39 contests, NDSU is paced by right-handers Brian VanderWoude (3.43 ERA, 6-2, 4 SV, 42.0 IP, 43 H, 18 R, 16 ER, 53 SO, 17 BB), Jordan Harms (3.16, 1-1, 1 SV, 25.2 IP, 20 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 26 SO, 12 BB) and Reed Pfannenstein (3.82 ERA, 2-1, 37.2 IP, 44 H, 19 R, 16 ER, 21 SO, 18 BB) ... NDSU is hitting .255 and has a 4.72 team ERA.

            SCOUTING ORAL ROBERTS: The Golden Eagles are 25-13 overall and lead The Summit League with a 14-4 league record entering the weekend ... Through 38 games, ORU is led offensively by infielder/outfielder Noah Cummings (.361, 48 H, 26 R, 12 2B, 2 HR, 29 RBI, 17 BB), catcher Matt Whatley (.347, 51 H, 34 R, 9 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 36 RBI, .592 SLG%, 32 BB, 2 SF), infielder Nick Rotola (.316, 50 H, 35 R, 9 2B, 1 HR, 25 RBI, 27 BB, 3 SF, 7 SB) and first baseman Brent Williams (.311, 46 H, 23 R, 6 2B, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 3 SF) ... Oral Roberts currently has seven players hitting over .300 ... On the mound, the Golden Eagles are paced by right-handers Nick Wood (2.44 ERA, 4-2, 1 CG, 44.1 IP, 41 H, 15 R, 12 ER, 39 SO, 15 BB) and Bryce Howe (3.61 ERA, 3-2, 57.1 IP, 62 H, 35 R, 23 ER, 52 SO, 23 BB) ... ORU is hitting a Summit League-best .306 and has a league-low 3.91 team ERA ... Oral Roberts is under the direction of fourth season head coach Ryan Folmar.

            BISON UPSET NO. 19 MINNESOTA: North Dakota State upset 19th-ranked Minnesota on Tuesday at Newman Outdoor Field, 7-4. The victory was NDSU's second win over an NCAA Division I top-25 opponent, with the first occurring at fifth-ranked Arizona during the 2012 season.

            VANDERWOUDE AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: RHP Brian VanderWoude ranks 24th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.36) and 48th in victories (6) in the latest NCAA national statistics.

            FEARING NAMED TO BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST: Drew Fearing was recently named to the Brooks Wallace Award Shortstop of the Year Watch List. Fearing leads the Bison and ranks sixth in The Summit League with a .336 batting average. He ranks third in the league and leads the team in stolen bases (14) and has a team-high .441 on-base percentage. He has totaled 33 runs scored, 25 RBIs, eight doubles and one triple this season. The Brooks Wallace Award, sponsored by Mizuno, honors the top college shortstop in the nation.

            HARMS NAMED SUMMIT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE WEEK: NDSU freshman RHP Jordan Harms was named The Summit League Pitcher of the Week for his performance during the week of April 18-24. Harms pitched the first four innings against then No. 25 Minnesota on April 19, allowing just two hits with no runs and a pair of strikeouts before tossing six shutout innings with a career-best six strikeouts in NDSU's 3-0 win over Western Illinois April 23 to earn his first collegiate win. For the week, he allowed no runs with eight strikeouts and one walk in 10 innings of work.

            SEVEN CONSECUTIVE 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark seven straight seasons. The Bison have qualified for five straight Summit League tournaments, winning the tournament championship in 2014 and reaching the championship game in three of the last four seasons. This is NDSU's ninth season in The Summit League after three seasons as a Division I independent.

            PETERSEN NAVIGATING THE BASE PATHS: Junior outfielder Ben Petersen has a career-high 12 stolen bases in 13 attempts through 39 games. His previous record was six in 2015.

            LEAGUE LEADERS: Ben Petersen has three triples through 39 contests this season, tying him for most triples in The Summit League ... Drew Fearing is third in stolen bases (14), sixth in batting average (.336) and tied for eighth in hits (48) ... RHP Brian VanderWoude is second in strikeouts (53), tied for second in wins (6), fifth in ERA (3.43) and tied for fifth in saves (4) ... Brayden Resch is sixth in walks (25) ... LHP Zach Mayo is tied for sixth in total strikeouts (47).

            FEARING EXCELLING IN LEAGUE PLAY: Sophomore infielder Drew Fearing leads the Bison in batting average (.379), hits (25), runs scored (19), on base percentage (.481) and stolen bases (4) through 18 Summit League games.

            SOPHOMORE SLUGGERS: Sophomores Drew Fearing (.336, 48 H) and Brayden Resch (.297, 41 H) lead the Bison in batting average and hits through 39 games.

            PATROLLING THE BASE PATHS: NDSU catcher Juan Gamez has thrown out 12 opposing base runners in 38 stolen base attempts against this season.

            SHUTTING THE DOOR: Seven different North Dakota State relievers have tallied at least one save through 39 contests. Sean Terres leads the Bison with five saves, while Brian VanderWoude has four, and Colin Baumgard, Luke Lind, Blake Stockert, Jordan Harms and Dalton England each have one save.

            NOTABLE HITTING AND ON-BASE STREAKS: Hitting - None; On-Base - Logan Busch: 10 games

            BROWN REACHES MILESTONE: North Dakota State head coach Tod Brown earned his 200th career win after the Bison swept a doubleheader against IPFW on Saturday, April 9. His career record in nine seasons as the Bison skipper is now 206-242.

            NDSU WELCOMES EIGHT NEWCOMERS IN 2016: Eight newcomers, including six pitchers and two position players, join the Bison for the 2016 season ... Pitchers include right-handers Dalton England (Gilbert, Ariz.), Alex Rogers (Nanaimo, British Columbia), Logan McShane (Greenfield, Wis.), Nick Salentine (Fargo, N.D.), Jordan Harms (Hitterdal, Minn.) and Blake Tritch (Chaska, Minn.) ... Position players are Alec Abercrombie (Shoreview, Minn.) and Logan Busch (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.).

            PRESEASON PICKS: North Dakota State was picked to finish fifth in The Summit League in a preseason poll of the league's six head coaches. Oral Roberts was picked first after claiming the league's regular season and postseason tournament championships last season. The Golden Eagles received all five of its possible first-place votes. Fort Wayne, last season's tournament runner-up, was picked second. South Dakota State was slotted third with the final first-place tally, followed by Omaha, the Bison and Western Illinois. NDSU welcomes back second team All-Summit League outfielder Ben Petersen.

            THE COACH: North Dakota State head coach Tod Brown (Arizona, 1994) is in his ninth season with a 207-242 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 Summit League championship game appearances in the past four seasons
Five consecutive Summit League tournament appearances
Winning percentage of .516 the past four seasons
18 All-Summit League honorees, six first team selections
18 players who signed professional contracts
Coached three NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients: Wes Satzinger (2014), John Straka (2013) and Kole Zimmerman (2008)

UP NEXT: The Bison host Concordia-Moorhead Tuesday, May 3, at 6:30 p.m. at Newman Outdoor Field before traveling to Grand Forks to take on North Dakota on Wednesday, May 4, at 6 p.m.