Friday, May 12
Fargo, N.D.
6:30 p.m.
North Dakota State Athletics
vs
Western Illinois
Players Mentioned
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OF
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1B
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P
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INF
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OF
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Photo by: Carrie Snyder
Bison Conclude Home Slate with Three-Game Series Against Western Illinois May 12-14
5/10/2017 3:10:00 PM | Baseball
Game 1: North Dakota State vs. Western Illinois
Friday, May 12 | 6:30 p.m.
Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM, 92.7 FM, Bison1660.com, Bison 1660 app
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Game 2: North Dakota State vs. Western Illinois
Saturday, May 13 | 1 p.m.
Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: TBA
Live Stats | Live Video
Game 3: North Dakota State vs. Western Illinois
Senior Day
Sunday, May 14 | 1 p.m.
Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM, 92.7 FM, Bison1660.com, Bison 1660 app
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
NDSU Game Notes (PDF)
NDSU baseball on Twitter: @NDSUbaseball
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team is scheduled to host the Western Illinois University Leathernecks May 12-14 at Newman Outdoor Field in the final home series of the season. The series opener is slated for 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 12, with games two and three scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, and Sunday, May 14. Prior to Sunday's series finale, NDSU seniors JT Core, Dalton England, Luke Lind, Zach Mayo, Danny Palmiscno, Ben Petersen, Reed Pfannenstein, Alex Rogers and Sean Terres will be honored.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Friday's series opener and Sunday's series finale will air live on Bison 1660 AM, 92.7 FM, Bison1660.com and the Bison 1660 app with Jeff Culhane and Keith Brake on the call. A pay-per-view video webcast and free live stats will also be available for every game at GoBison.com.
SERIES RECORD: The three-game series vs. the Leathernecks will mark meetings 56-58 in the all-time series that dates back to 2005. Western Illinois leads the series, 31-24. The Bison won two of three games in Macomb, Ill., earlier this season March 24-26.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State enters the weekend at 24-22 overall and 14-10 in Summit League play after winning two of three games against league-leading Oral Roberts May 5-7 ... It was Oral Roberts' first Summit League series loss of the season ... Through 46 games, NDSU is paced at the plate by junior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.302 avg., 25 R, 54 H, 11 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 29 RBI, 14 BB), junior outfielder Logan Busch (.301 avg., 22 R, 46 H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 31 BB) and senior outfielder Ben Petersen (.278 avg., 34 R, 45 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 28 BB, 6 SB) ... On the mound, NDSU is led by senior right-handers Reed Pfannenstein (3.70 ERA, 5-4, 1 SHO, 73.0 IP, 82 H, 34 R, 30 ER, 21 BB, 51 SO) and Luke Lind (4.93 ERA, 4-4, 2 CG, 2 SHO, 69.1 IP, 58 H, 39 R, 38 ER, 19 BB, 75 SO), and sophomore right-hander Jordan Harms (3.29 ERA, 2-7, 1 SHO, 54.2 IP, 50 H, 29 R, 20 ER, 26 BB, 50 SO) ... Lind leads The Summit League in strikeouts and strikeouts per game (9.74/game) ... Redshirt junior reliever Kevin Folman has a team-high seven saves in 18 appearances and 23.0 innings pitched ... North Dakota State has a .248 team batting average, .973 team fielding percentage and 3.80 team ERA ... The Bison rank second in The Summit League in both team ERA and fielding percentage, and fifth in team hitting.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The Western Illinois Leathernecks enter the weekend at 18-25 overall and 12-10 in Summit League action after losing two of three games at South Dakota State May 5-7 ... Through 43 games, WIU is led by senior catcher Adam McGinnis (.363 avg., 34 R, 53 H, 15 2B, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 22 BB, 7 SB) and redshirt freshman infielder Drue Galassi (.301 avg., 29 R, 37 H, 11 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 19 BB, 9 SB) ... McGinnis leads The Summit League in batting average, while Galassi ranks fourth in home runs ... On the mound, Western Illinois is led by senior left-handed pitcher Preston Church (3.40 ERA, 3-3, 47.2 IP, 38 H, 19 R, 18 ER, 26 BB, 37 SO) and sophomore right-handed pitcher Ian Koch (4.08 ERA, 5-2, 1 CG, 75.0 IP, 79 H, 44 R, 34 ER, 39 BB, 55 SO) ... Church ranks fifth in the league in ERA, while Koch is fifth in strikeouts ... WIU has a .266 team batting average, .959 team fielding percentage and 5.34 team ERA ... Western Illinois is under the leadership of fifth season head coach Ryan Brownlee.
TURNING TWO: In NDSU's 24 Summit League games, the Bison have turned a league-best 27 double plays. NDSU also leads the league in overall double plays and ranks 36th in the latest NCAA Division I national statistics with 43 double plays in 46 games. The Bison are two double plays away from tying the NDSU single-season record (45), which was set back in 1996 and matched in 2010.
LOCK-DOWN DEFENSE: Entering the weekend, the North Dakota State defense has a .973 fielding percentage and has only committed 46 errors. NDSU ranks second in The Summit League and 80th nationally in fielding percentage. The .973 fielding percentage ranks second in North Dakota State single-season history.
PRODUCTIVE OUTS: The Bison rank second in The Summit League and 27th nationally with 24 sacrifice flies in 46 games. The 24 sac flies rank fourth-highest in NDSU single-season history. NDSU is just two away from tying the single-season record for sacrifice flies (26), which was set in 1994 and matched in 2011 and 2012.
SWING AND A MISS: The Bison pitching staff ranks second in The Summit League in batters struck out at 332 in 46 games. The 332 strikeouts are the fifth most in NDSU single-season history.
HOSTETLER SCORCHING AT THE PLATE: Freshman Bennett Hostetler is hitting .433 with 13 hits, eight runs, two home runs and eight RBIs in his last seven games. He also has a .633 slugging and .438 on-base percentage during that span.
TOUGH OUT: Junior infielder Mason Pierzchalski ranks 42nd on the list of toughest players to strikeout in the latest NCAA Division I statistics. Pierzchalski has only struck out 14 times in 179 at bats (12.8 average).
BUSCH GETTING ON BASE: Junior outfielder Logan Busch has a team-high 22 game on-base streak entering Friday's series opener against Western Illinois. Over NDSU's last seven games, Busch is hitting .346 with nine hits, three runs, two doubles, three RBIs and four walks.
ABERCROMBIE ACCELERATING IN THE BATTER'S BOX: In his last 14 games, sophomore outfielder Alec Abercrombie is hitting .341 with 14 hits, 10 runs, two doubles, one triple, one homer, eight RBIs, eight walks and four stolen bases. On the season, the Shoreview, Minn., native is second on the team with six stolen bases in seven attempts.
NATIONAL HONORS: Senior right-handed pitcher Luke Lind was named one of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's National Players of the Week for May 1 after tossing a one-hit complete-game shutout with a career-high 11 strikeouts in NDSU's 3-0 win at South Dakota State April 28.
PITCHING CONSISTENCY: Bison RHP Reed Pfannenstein has compiled a 1.81 ERA and is 4-0 in his last six appearances and starts on the mound. In 44.2 innings, he has allowed only nine earned runs on 34 hits with 28 strikeouts and 14 walks.
CLOSING THE DOOR: NDSU right-handed closer Kevin Folman leads the team and is tied for second in The Summit League with seven saves in 18 relief appearances. The Hermantown, Minn., native has allowed only six earned runs on 17 hits with 18 strikeouts and six walks in 23.0 innings.
WALK THIS WAY: In the latest Summit League statistics, the Bison have two players ranked in the top 10 in walks. Logan Busch is third in the league with 31 free passes, while Ben Petersen is sixth with 28 walks. As a team, North Dakota State is second in The Summit League with 180 walks.
TAKE YOUR BASE: Two Bison rank in the top 10 in The Summit League in hit batters. Drew Fearing has been hit a league-high 10 times, while Danny Palmiscno has been hit seven times, tying him for eighth in the league. The Bison have been hit 40 times through 46 games.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Mason Pierzchalski (Feb. 19), Ben Petersen (March 6) and Luke Lind (March 13, May 1) have received Summit League Player of the Week honors this season.
EIGHT CONSECUTIVE 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark eight 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 239-271 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, May 12 | 6:30 p.m.
Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM, 92.7 FM, Bison1660.com, Bison 1660 app
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Game 2: North Dakota State vs. Western Illinois
Saturday, May 13 | 1 p.m.
Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: TBA
Live Stats | Live Video
Game 3: North Dakota State vs. Western Illinois
Senior Day
Sunday, May 14 | 1 p.m.
Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM, 92.7 FM, Bison1660.com, Bison 1660 app
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
NDSU Game Notes (PDF)
NDSU baseball on Twitter: @NDSUbaseball
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team is scheduled to host the Western Illinois University Leathernecks May 12-14 at Newman Outdoor Field in the final home series of the season. The series opener is slated for 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 12, with games two and three scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, and Sunday, May 14. Prior to Sunday's series finale, NDSU seniors JT Core, Dalton England, Luke Lind, Zach Mayo, Danny Palmiscno, Ben Petersen, Reed Pfannenstein, Alex Rogers and Sean Terres will be honored.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Friday's series opener and Sunday's series finale will air live on Bison 1660 AM, 92.7 FM, Bison1660.com and the Bison 1660 app with Jeff Culhane and Keith Brake on the call. A pay-per-view video webcast and free live stats will also be available for every game at GoBison.com.
SERIES RECORD: The three-game series vs. the Leathernecks will mark meetings 56-58 in the all-time series that dates back to 2005. Western Illinois leads the series, 31-24. The Bison won two of three games in Macomb, Ill., earlier this season March 24-26.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State enters the weekend at 24-22 overall and 14-10 in Summit League play after winning two of three games against league-leading Oral Roberts May 5-7 ... It was Oral Roberts' first Summit League series loss of the season ... Through 46 games, NDSU is paced at the plate by junior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.302 avg., 25 R, 54 H, 11 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 29 RBI, 14 BB), junior outfielder Logan Busch (.301 avg., 22 R, 46 H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 31 BB) and senior outfielder Ben Petersen (.278 avg., 34 R, 45 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 28 BB, 6 SB) ... On the mound, NDSU is led by senior right-handers Reed Pfannenstein (3.70 ERA, 5-4, 1 SHO, 73.0 IP, 82 H, 34 R, 30 ER, 21 BB, 51 SO) and Luke Lind (4.93 ERA, 4-4, 2 CG, 2 SHO, 69.1 IP, 58 H, 39 R, 38 ER, 19 BB, 75 SO), and sophomore right-hander Jordan Harms (3.29 ERA, 2-7, 1 SHO, 54.2 IP, 50 H, 29 R, 20 ER, 26 BB, 50 SO) ... Lind leads The Summit League in strikeouts and strikeouts per game (9.74/game) ... Redshirt junior reliever Kevin Folman has a team-high seven saves in 18 appearances and 23.0 innings pitched ... North Dakota State has a .248 team batting average, .973 team fielding percentage and 3.80 team ERA ... The Bison rank second in The Summit League in both team ERA and fielding percentage, and fifth in team hitting.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The Western Illinois Leathernecks enter the weekend at 18-25 overall and 12-10 in Summit League action after losing two of three games at South Dakota State May 5-7 ... Through 43 games, WIU is led by senior catcher Adam McGinnis (.363 avg., 34 R, 53 H, 15 2B, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 22 BB, 7 SB) and redshirt freshman infielder Drue Galassi (.301 avg., 29 R, 37 H, 11 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 19 BB, 9 SB) ... McGinnis leads The Summit League in batting average, while Galassi ranks fourth in home runs ... On the mound, Western Illinois is led by senior left-handed pitcher Preston Church (3.40 ERA, 3-3, 47.2 IP, 38 H, 19 R, 18 ER, 26 BB, 37 SO) and sophomore right-handed pitcher Ian Koch (4.08 ERA, 5-2, 1 CG, 75.0 IP, 79 H, 44 R, 34 ER, 39 BB, 55 SO) ... Church ranks fifth in the league in ERA, while Koch is fifth in strikeouts ... WIU has a .266 team batting average, .959 team fielding percentage and 5.34 team ERA ... Western Illinois is under the leadership of fifth season head coach Ryan Brownlee.
TURNING TWO: In NDSU's 24 Summit League games, the Bison have turned a league-best 27 double plays. NDSU also leads the league in overall double plays and ranks 36th in the latest NCAA Division I national statistics with 43 double plays in 46 games. The Bison are two double plays away from tying the NDSU single-season record (45), which was set back in 1996 and matched in 2010.
LOCK-DOWN DEFENSE: Entering the weekend, the North Dakota State defense has a .973 fielding percentage and has only committed 46 errors. NDSU ranks second in The Summit League and 80th nationally in fielding percentage. The .973 fielding percentage ranks second in North Dakota State single-season history.
PRODUCTIVE OUTS: The Bison rank second in The Summit League and 27th nationally with 24 sacrifice flies in 46 games. The 24 sac flies rank fourth-highest in NDSU single-season history. NDSU is just two away from tying the single-season record for sacrifice flies (26), which was set in 1994 and matched in 2011 and 2012.
SWING AND A MISS: The Bison pitching staff ranks second in The Summit League in batters struck out at 332 in 46 games. The 332 strikeouts are the fifth most in NDSU single-season history.
HOSTETLER SCORCHING AT THE PLATE: Freshman Bennett Hostetler is hitting .433 with 13 hits, eight runs, two home runs and eight RBIs in his last seven games. He also has a .633 slugging and .438 on-base percentage during that span.
TOUGH OUT: Junior infielder Mason Pierzchalski ranks 42nd on the list of toughest players to strikeout in the latest NCAA Division I statistics. Pierzchalski has only struck out 14 times in 179 at bats (12.8 average).
BUSCH GETTING ON BASE: Junior outfielder Logan Busch has a team-high 22 game on-base streak entering Friday's series opener against Western Illinois. Over NDSU's last seven games, Busch is hitting .346 with nine hits, three runs, two doubles, three RBIs and four walks.
ABERCROMBIE ACCELERATING IN THE BATTER'S BOX: In his last 14 games, sophomore outfielder Alec Abercrombie is hitting .341 with 14 hits, 10 runs, two doubles, one triple, one homer, eight RBIs, eight walks and four stolen bases. On the season, the Shoreview, Minn., native is second on the team with six stolen bases in seven attempts.
NATIONAL HONORS: Senior right-handed pitcher Luke Lind was named one of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's National Players of the Week for May 1 after tossing a one-hit complete-game shutout with a career-high 11 strikeouts in NDSU's 3-0 win at South Dakota State April 28.
PITCHING CONSISTENCY: Bison RHP Reed Pfannenstein has compiled a 1.81 ERA and is 4-0 in his last six appearances and starts on the mound. In 44.2 innings, he has allowed only nine earned runs on 34 hits with 28 strikeouts and 14 walks.
CLOSING THE DOOR: NDSU right-handed closer Kevin Folman leads the team and is tied for second in The Summit League with seven saves in 18 relief appearances. The Hermantown, Minn., native has allowed only six earned runs on 17 hits with 18 strikeouts and six walks in 23.0 innings.
WALK THIS WAY: In the latest Summit League statistics, the Bison have two players ranked in the top 10 in walks. Logan Busch is third in the league with 31 free passes, while Ben Petersen is sixth with 28 walks. As a team, North Dakota State is second in The Summit League with 180 walks.
TAKE YOUR BASE: Two Bison rank in the top 10 in The Summit League in hit batters. Drew Fearing has been hit a league-high 10 times, while Danny Palmiscno has been hit seven times, tying him for eighth in the league. The Bison have been hit 40 times through 46 games.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Mason Pierzchalski (Feb. 19), Ben Petersen (March 6) and Luke Lind (March 13, May 1) have received Summit League Player of the Week honors this season.
EIGHT CONSECUTIVE 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark eight 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 239-271 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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