Friday, March 24
Macomb, Ill.
1 p.m.
North Dakota State
at
Western Illinois
Players Mentioned
OF
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P
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C
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INF
/ Baseball
P/INF
/ Baseball
P
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INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
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P
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Jim Trewin
Bison Continue Summit League Play with Three-Game Series at Western Illinois
3/22/2017 4:06:00 PM | Baseball
Game 1: North Dakota State at Western Illinois
Friday, March 24 | 1 p.m. (moved up from 3 p.m. start)
Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
Game 2: North Dakota State at Western Illinois
Saturday, March 25 | 1 p.m.
Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
Game 3: North Dakota State at Western Illinois
Sunday, March 26 | 1 p.m.
Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
NDSU Game Notes (PDF) | Live Stats (all games)
NDSU baseball on Twitter: @NDSUbaseball
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team will look to snap a seven-game losing streak when it travels to Macomb, Ill., to take on the Western Illinois University Leathernecks in a three-game Summit League series March 24-26 at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Live stats will be available for all three games. For links, please visit www.GoBison.com. Twitter updates will also be available on the official NDSU baseball Twitter account at www.Twitter.com/NDSUbaseball.
SERIES RECORD: The three-game series at Western Illinois will mark meetings 53-55 in the all-time series that dates back to 2005. The Leathernecks lead the series, 30-22. Last season, the Bison went 3-3 against WIU, losing two of three in Macomb March 18-20 before winning two of three contests in Fargo April 22-23. NDSU has not won a series in Macomb since the 2010 season when the Bison won three of four games against the Leathernecks.
BISON NOTES: The North Dakota State University Bison enter the weekend at 7-13 overall and 0-3 in Summit League action after dropping three games at Oral Roberts March 17-19 ... NDSU has dropped its last seven contests ... Through 20 games, NDSU is led at the plate by junior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.338 avg., 16 R, 25 H, 7 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB), redshirt junior outfielder Logan Busch (.290 avg., 10 R, 18 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 16 BB) and senior outfielder Ben Petersen (.282 avg., 17 R, 20 H, 4 2B, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 11 BB, 3 SB) ... On the mound, the Bison are paced by senior RHP Luke Lind (4.97 ERA, 2-2, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 29.0 IP, 28 H, 17 R, 16 ER, 4 BB, 26 K) and redshirt junior LHP Chris Choles (1.96 ERA, 1-1, 1 SV, 18.1 IP, 17 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 11 K) ... NDSU has a .238 team batting average, 5.07 team ERA and .967 team fielding percentage.
SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS: Western Illinois enters the week at 3-14 overall and 2-1 in Summit League play after winning two of three games against Fort Wayne March 17-19 ... The Leathernecks are scheduled to play Saint Ambrose Wednesday before taking on the Bison Friday through Sunday ... Through 17 games, WIU is led in the batter's box by junior infielder Jonathan Fleek (.360 avg., 4 R, 18 H, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 3 SB), senior catcher Adam McGinnis (.340 avg., 7 R, 17 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB), junior outfielder Roman Visintine (.281 avg., 5 R, 16 H, 6 2B, 3 3B, 8 RBI, 6 BB, 3 SB) and sophomore infielder Drue Galassi (.271 avg., 8 R, 13 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 5 BB) ... On the mound, WIU is led by sophomore RHP Ian Koch (4.45 ERA, 1-1, 30.1 IP, 34 H, 22 R, 15 ER, 15 BB, 23 K) ... WIU has a .231 team batting average, 7.13 team ERA and .943 team fielding percentage ... Western Illinois is under the direction of fifth season head coach Ryan Brownlee.
PETERSEN POWER: Ben Petersen leads North Dakota State and The Summit League with six home runs this season. The senior from Lino Lakes, Minn., also paces the Bison and ranks fourth in the league in RBIs with 17. His .592 slugging percentage is tops on the team and second best in the league.
PIERZCHALSKI SIZZLING AT THE PLATE: Mason Pierzchalski leads the Bison and is tied for third in The Summit League in hits with 25. He also leads NDSU and ranks ninth in the league with a .338 batting average and has reached base safely in the 19 games he has played in. Pierzchalski had a 17 game hitting streak snapped at Oral Roberts March 18.
WALK THIS WAY: In the latest Summit League statistics, the Bison have three players ranked in the top 10 in walks. Logan Busch is tied for the league lead with 16 free passes, while Drew Fearing and Ben Petersen are tied for sixth with 11 walks.
TAKE YOUR BASE: Three Bison rank in the top 10 in The Summit League in hit by pitch. Drew Fearing is tied for the league lead with six hit by pitch, while Danny Palmiscno is tied for seventh with four and Ben Petersen is tied for ninth with three.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE WELCOMES 14 NEWCOMERS IN 2017: Fourteen newcomers, including eight position players and six pitchers, join the Bison for the 2017 season. Position players include infielders Bennett Hostetler (Bozeman, Mont.), Charley Hesse (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Tucker Rohde (Scottsdale, Ariz.); outfielder Carter Thompson (Fargo, N.D.); catchers Nick Emanuel (Esko, Minn.), Jake Malec (Proctor, Minn.) and Calvin Kalthoff (Cold Spring, Minn.); and infielder/outfielder Axel Twenge (Minnetonka, Minn.). ... Pitchers include left-hander Mitch O'Connor (Bloomington, Minn.), and right-handers Ryan Olson (Halstad, Minn.), Riley Johnson (Apple Valley, Minn.), Devin Foster (Broomfield, Colo.), Austin Truso (Prior Lake, Minn.) and Kyle Ferderer (Savage, Minn.).
DITCH AND KEEFER JOIN NDSU COACHING STAFF: In addition to 14 new student-athletes, the Bison also have two new coaches for 2017. Jeff Ditch, who has coached college baseball for over 24 years, is the new hitting coach for North Dakota State, while former Bison left-handed pitcher Trent Keefer is a volunteer assistant coach. Ditch joined the Bison after serving as head coach for 11 seasons at Indiana University-Pennsylvania, where he was the all-time winningest coach in program history, recording 253 wins. He also spent time at West Virginia, Cincinnati and Penn State as an assistant.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Mason Pierzchalski (Feb. 19), Ben Petersen (March 6) and Luke Lind (March 13) have received Summit League Player of the Week honors this season.
BISON 1660 TO BROADCAST MINIMUM OF 24 NDSU BASEBALL GAMES IN 2017: A minimum of 24 North Dakota State University baseball games will air live on Bison 1660 AM during the 2017 season, NDSU athletics and Radio FM Media announced Monday, Feb. 20. Bison 1660 will broadcast 24 regular season contests and all postseason games over the air, online at Bison1660.com, and on the Bison 1660 app. The "Voice of the Bison" Jeff Culhane will call the action, with Bison 1660 on-air personality Keith Brake providing color commentary. All broadcasts will feature a 30-minute pregame show. For a complete broadcast schedule, please visit www.GoBison.com.
SEVEN CONSECUTIVE 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark seven straight seasons. The Bison have qualified for five Summit League tournaments, winning the tournament championship in 2014 and reaching the championship game in three of the last five seasons. This is NDSU's 10th season in The Summit League after three seasons as a Division I independent.
PRESEASON PICKS: The North Dakota State University baseball team was picked to finish third in The Summit League Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll released on Thursday, Feb. 9, by the league office. The Bison tallied 17 points in the poll, which was voted on by the league's six head coaches. Defending Summit League regular season and tournament champion Oral Roberts was picked first and tallied 25 points with five first-place votes, while South Dakota State was second with 18 points and received the final first-place vote. NDSU was third, followed by Omaha (13 points), Western Illinois (nine points) and Fort Wayne (eight points).
THE COACH: Tod Brown (Arizona, 1994) enters his 10th season as the head coach for the Bison and has a 222-262 record at NDSU. 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:
Friday, March 24 | 1 p.m. (moved up from 3 p.m. start)
Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
Game 2: North Dakota State at Western Illinois
Saturday, March 25 | 1 p.m.
Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
Game 3: North Dakota State at Western Illinois
Sunday, March 26 | 1 p.m.
Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
NDSU Game Notes (PDF) | Live Stats (all games)
NDSU baseball on Twitter: @NDSUbaseball
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team will look to snap a seven-game losing streak when it travels to Macomb, Ill., to take on the Western Illinois University Leathernecks in a three-game Summit League series March 24-26 at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Live stats will be available for all three games. For links, please visit www.GoBison.com. Twitter updates will also be available on the official NDSU baseball Twitter account at www.Twitter.com/NDSUbaseball.
SERIES RECORD: The three-game series at Western Illinois will mark meetings 53-55 in the all-time series that dates back to 2005. The Leathernecks lead the series, 30-22. Last season, the Bison went 3-3 against WIU, losing two of three in Macomb March 18-20 before winning two of three contests in Fargo April 22-23. NDSU has not won a series in Macomb since the 2010 season when the Bison won three of four games against the Leathernecks.
BISON NOTES: The North Dakota State University Bison enter the weekend at 7-13 overall and 0-3 in Summit League action after dropping three games at Oral Roberts March 17-19 ... NDSU has dropped its last seven contests ... Through 20 games, NDSU is led at the plate by junior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.338 avg., 16 R, 25 H, 7 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB), redshirt junior outfielder Logan Busch (.290 avg., 10 R, 18 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 16 BB) and senior outfielder Ben Petersen (.282 avg., 17 R, 20 H, 4 2B, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 11 BB, 3 SB) ... On the mound, the Bison are paced by senior RHP Luke Lind (4.97 ERA, 2-2, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 29.0 IP, 28 H, 17 R, 16 ER, 4 BB, 26 K) and redshirt junior LHP Chris Choles (1.96 ERA, 1-1, 1 SV, 18.1 IP, 17 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 11 K) ... NDSU has a .238 team batting average, 5.07 team ERA and .967 team fielding percentage.
SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS: Western Illinois enters the week at 3-14 overall and 2-1 in Summit League play after winning two of three games against Fort Wayne March 17-19 ... The Leathernecks are scheduled to play Saint Ambrose Wednesday before taking on the Bison Friday through Sunday ... Through 17 games, WIU is led in the batter's box by junior infielder Jonathan Fleek (.360 avg., 4 R, 18 H, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 3 SB), senior catcher Adam McGinnis (.340 avg., 7 R, 17 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB), junior outfielder Roman Visintine (.281 avg., 5 R, 16 H, 6 2B, 3 3B, 8 RBI, 6 BB, 3 SB) and sophomore infielder Drue Galassi (.271 avg., 8 R, 13 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 5 BB) ... On the mound, WIU is led by sophomore RHP Ian Koch (4.45 ERA, 1-1, 30.1 IP, 34 H, 22 R, 15 ER, 15 BB, 23 K) ... WIU has a .231 team batting average, 7.13 team ERA and .943 team fielding percentage ... Western Illinois is under the direction of fifth season head coach Ryan Brownlee.
PETERSEN POWER: Ben Petersen leads North Dakota State and The Summit League with six home runs this season. The senior from Lino Lakes, Minn., also paces the Bison and ranks fourth in the league in RBIs with 17. His .592 slugging percentage is tops on the team and second best in the league.
PIERZCHALSKI SIZZLING AT THE PLATE: Mason Pierzchalski leads the Bison and is tied for third in The Summit League in hits with 25. He also leads NDSU and ranks ninth in the league with a .338 batting average and has reached base safely in the 19 games he has played in. Pierzchalski had a 17 game hitting streak snapped at Oral Roberts March 18.
WALK THIS WAY: In the latest Summit League statistics, the Bison have three players ranked in the top 10 in walks. Logan Busch is tied for the league lead with 16 free passes, while Drew Fearing and Ben Petersen are tied for sixth with 11 walks.
TAKE YOUR BASE: Three Bison rank in the top 10 in The Summit League in hit by pitch. Drew Fearing is tied for the league lead with six hit by pitch, while Danny Palmiscno is tied for seventh with four and Ben Petersen is tied for ninth with three.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE WELCOMES 14 NEWCOMERS IN 2017: Fourteen newcomers, including eight position players and six pitchers, join the Bison for the 2017 season. Position players include infielders Bennett Hostetler (Bozeman, Mont.), Charley Hesse (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Tucker Rohde (Scottsdale, Ariz.); outfielder Carter Thompson (Fargo, N.D.); catchers Nick Emanuel (Esko, Minn.), Jake Malec (Proctor, Minn.) and Calvin Kalthoff (Cold Spring, Minn.); and infielder/outfielder Axel Twenge (Minnetonka, Minn.). ... Pitchers include left-hander Mitch O'Connor (Bloomington, Minn.), and right-handers Ryan Olson (Halstad, Minn.), Riley Johnson (Apple Valley, Minn.), Devin Foster (Broomfield, Colo.), Austin Truso (Prior Lake, Minn.) and Kyle Ferderer (Savage, Minn.).
DITCH AND KEEFER JOIN NDSU COACHING STAFF: In addition to 14 new student-athletes, the Bison also have two new coaches for 2017. Jeff Ditch, who has coached college baseball for over 24 years, is the new hitting coach for North Dakota State, while former Bison left-handed pitcher Trent Keefer is a volunteer assistant coach. Ditch joined the Bison after serving as head coach for 11 seasons at Indiana University-Pennsylvania, where he was the all-time winningest coach in program history, recording 253 wins. He also spent time at West Virginia, Cincinnati and Penn State as an assistant.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Mason Pierzchalski (Feb. 19), Ben Petersen (March 6) and Luke Lind (March 13) have received Summit League Player of the Week honors this season.
BISON 1660 TO BROADCAST MINIMUM OF 24 NDSU BASEBALL GAMES IN 2017: A minimum of 24 North Dakota State University baseball games will air live on Bison 1660 AM during the 2017 season, NDSU athletics and Radio FM Media announced Monday, Feb. 20. Bison 1660 will broadcast 24 regular season contests and all postseason games over the air, online at Bison1660.com, and on the Bison 1660 app. The "Voice of the Bison" Jeff Culhane will call the action, with Bison 1660 on-air personality Keith Brake providing color commentary. All broadcasts will feature a 30-minute pregame show. For a complete broadcast schedule, please visit www.GoBison.com.
SEVEN CONSECUTIVE 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark seven straight seasons. The Bison have qualified for five Summit League tournaments, winning the tournament championship in 2014 and reaching the championship game in three of the last five seasons. This is NDSU's 10th season in The Summit League after three seasons as a Division I independent.
PRESEASON PICKS: The North Dakota State University baseball team was picked to finish third in The Summit League Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll released on Thursday, Feb. 9, by the league office. The Bison tallied 17 points in the poll, which was voted on by the league's six head coaches. Defending Summit League regular season and tournament champion Oral Roberts was picked first and tallied 25 points with five first-place votes, while South Dakota State was second with 18 points and received the final first-place vote. NDSU was third, followed by Omaha (13 points), Western Illinois (nine points) and Fort Wayne (eight points).
THE COACH: Tod Brown (Arizona, 1994) enters his 10th season as the head coach for the Bison and has a 222-262 record at NDSU. 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 five seasons
- Five Summit League tournament appearances in the last six years
- Winning percentage of .520 the past five seasons
- 20 All-Summit League honorees, including seven first team selections
- 19 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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