Friday, February 16
San Antonio, Texas
2 p.m.
North Dakota State
at
Incarnate Word
Players Mentioned
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Photo by: Bill Powell
Bison Open 2018 Season with Four-Game Series at Incarnate Word Feb. 16-18
2/15/2018 4:09:00 PM | Baseball
Games 1-2: North Dakota State at Incarnate Word
Friday, Feb. 16 | 2 p.m. | San Antonio, Texas (Daniel Sullivan Field)
Live Stats
Game 3: North Dakota State at Incarnate Word
Saturday, Feb. 17 | TBA | San Antonio, Texas (Daniel Sullivan Field)
Live Stats
Game 4: North Dakota State at Incarnate Word
Sunday, Feb. 18 | TBA | San Antonio, Texas (Daniel Sullivan Field)
Live Stats
NDSU Game Notes (PDF) | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team is scheduled to open its 2018 season with a four-game series at the University of the Incarnate Word Feb. 16-18. The Bison and Cardinals are slated to play a season-opening doubleheader Friday, Feb. 16, starting at 2 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday's schedule to be determined based on the weather conditions in San Antonio, Texas.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Live stats and live audio will be available for all games in the series. For links, please visit GoBison.com.
SERIES RECORD: The four-game series at Incarnate Word will mark meetings 10-13 in the all-time series that dates back to 1988. This will be the first series against the Cardinals since 1994. Incarnate Word leads the series, 8-1, with NDSU's lone win occurring in San Antonio during the 1994 season.
PREVIEWING 2018: North Dakota State returns seven position starters and six pitchers from last season's team that posted a 31-25 overall record, including a program-record 19 Summit League victories ... NDSU welcomes back seven of its nine infielders and outfielders, including All-Summit League left fielder Logan Busch, who hit .303 with 29 runs, 57 hits, 12 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 30 RBI, and a program-record 36 walks, and first baseman Mason Pierzchalski, who led the team in batting average (.305), hits (67) and RBI (36) ... On the mound, North Dakota State returns one starting pitcher and five relievers who pitched at least 20 innings in 2017, including right-hander Jordan Harms, who went 4-7 in 71 1/3 innings pitched and 12 starts, and posted a 3.15 ERA with 62 hits, 34 runs, 25 earned runs, 34 walks and 62 strikeouts and closer Kevin Folman, who paced the team and ranked third in The Summit League with eight saves.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The University of the Incarnate Word posted a 20-36 overall record and 8-22 mark in league action last year, finishing 12th in the Southland Conference ... The Cardinals welcome back their top three hitters from 2016 in outfielders Eddy Gonzalez (.344 avg., 62 H, 36 R, 19 RBI), Kyler Genenbacher (.307 avg., 51 H, 25 R, 19 RBI) and Mark Whitehead (.304 AVG, 65 H, 46 R, 27 RBI, 20 SB) ... On the mound, UIW is slated to throw RHP Bernie Martinez (5.12 ERA, 3-6, 1 CG, 84.1 IP, 104 H, 57 R, 48 ER, 33 BB, 54 SO), RHP Luke Taggart (9.88 ERA, 2-5, 41.0 IP, 64 H, 50 R, 45 ER, 22 BB, 28 SO) and RHP Tyler Miller (9.71 ERA, 1-4, 1 SV, 35.1 IP, 51 H, 37 R, 36 ER, 19 BB, 28 SO). Sunday's starter is TBA ... Incarnate Word was picked to finish tied for 12th out of 12 teams in the Southland Conference preseason poll ... The Cardinals are under the leadership of first season head coach Patrick Hallmark.
BISON WELCOME 13 NEWCOMERS in 2018: Thirteen newcomers, including six position players, five pitchers and two utility players, join NDSU for the 2018 season. Position players include infielders Tyler Hillman (Pella, Iowa), Sean Noel (Mahtomedi, Minn.), Ryan Cornell (Omaha, Neb.) and Jack Simonsen (Sioux Falls, S.D.), and outfielders Zach Solano (Rapid City, S.D.) and Thomas Krause (Rochester, Minn.). Pitchers include RHP Tom Ginther (Baraboo, Wis.), RHP Jake Drew (Alexandria, Minn.), LHP Christian Rawlings (Plano, Texas), RHP Gabe Pilla (Bloomington, Minn.) and LHP Mitch O'Connor (Bloomington, Minn.). Utility players include Zach Smith (Rochester, Minn.) and Hunter Koep (Northfield, Minn.).
TURNING TWO: North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017. Infielders Tucker Rohde, Matt Elsenpeter, Bennett Hostetler, Drew Fearing and Mason Pierzchalski, who all played a key role in setting the record for turning two, return for the Bison in 2018.
RECORD-BREAKING DEFENSE: The Bison defense tied the program's single-season record for fielding percentage last season at .973. North Dakota State only committed 55 errors in 56 games.
EIGHT CONSECUTIVE 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark eight straight seasons. The Bison have qualified for six Summit League tournaments, winning the tournament championship in 2014 and reaching the championship game in four of the last six seasons. This is NDSU's 11th season in The Summit League after three seasons as a Division I independent.
PRESEASON PICKS: North Dakota State was picked to finish third in The Summit League Baseball Preseason Poll released Thursday, Feb. 8, by the league office. The Bison tallied 17 points in the poll. Defending Summit League regular season and tournament champion Oral Roberts was named the preseason favorite with 25 points and five first-place votes, while South Dakota State was tabbed second with 20 points and the final first-place vote. NDSU was third, while Western Illinois (14 points), Omaha (nine points) and Fort Wayne (five points) rounded out the poll.
PRESEASON HONORS: North Dakota State senior outfielder was named to The Summit League's Players to Watch List for the 2018 season. Busch, a native of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., was a first team all-league honoree in 2017.
THE COACH: Tod Brown (Arizona, 1994) enters his 11th season as the head coach for the Bison and has a 247-273 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, Feb. 16 | 2 p.m. | San Antonio, Texas (Daniel Sullivan Field)
Live Stats
Game 3: North Dakota State at Incarnate Word
Saturday, Feb. 17 | TBA | San Antonio, Texas (Daniel Sullivan Field)
Live Stats
Game 4: North Dakota State at Incarnate Word
Sunday, Feb. 18 | TBA | San Antonio, Texas (Daniel Sullivan Field)
Live Stats
NDSU Game Notes (PDF) | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team is scheduled to open its 2018 season with a four-game series at the University of the Incarnate Word Feb. 16-18. The Bison and Cardinals are slated to play a season-opening doubleheader Friday, Feb. 16, starting at 2 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday's schedule to be determined based on the weather conditions in San Antonio, Texas.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Live stats and live audio will be available for all games in the series. For links, please visit GoBison.com.
SERIES RECORD: The four-game series at Incarnate Word will mark meetings 10-13 in the all-time series that dates back to 1988. This will be the first series against the Cardinals since 1994. Incarnate Word leads the series, 8-1, with NDSU's lone win occurring in San Antonio during the 1994 season.
PREVIEWING 2018: North Dakota State returns seven position starters and six pitchers from last season's team that posted a 31-25 overall record, including a program-record 19 Summit League victories ... NDSU welcomes back seven of its nine infielders and outfielders, including All-Summit League left fielder Logan Busch, who hit .303 with 29 runs, 57 hits, 12 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 30 RBI, and a program-record 36 walks, and first baseman Mason Pierzchalski, who led the team in batting average (.305), hits (67) and RBI (36) ... On the mound, North Dakota State returns one starting pitcher and five relievers who pitched at least 20 innings in 2017, including right-hander Jordan Harms, who went 4-7 in 71 1/3 innings pitched and 12 starts, and posted a 3.15 ERA with 62 hits, 34 runs, 25 earned runs, 34 walks and 62 strikeouts and closer Kevin Folman, who paced the team and ranked third in The Summit League with eight saves.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The University of the Incarnate Word posted a 20-36 overall record and 8-22 mark in league action last year, finishing 12th in the Southland Conference ... The Cardinals welcome back their top three hitters from 2016 in outfielders Eddy Gonzalez (.344 avg., 62 H, 36 R, 19 RBI), Kyler Genenbacher (.307 avg., 51 H, 25 R, 19 RBI) and Mark Whitehead (.304 AVG, 65 H, 46 R, 27 RBI, 20 SB) ... On the mound, UIW is slated to throw RHP Bernie Martinez (5.12 ERA, 3-6, 1 CG, 84.1 IP, 104 H, 57 R, 48 ER, 33 BB, 54 SO), RHP Luke Taggart (9.88 ERA, 2-5, 41.0 IP, 64 H, 50 R, 45 ER, 22 BB, 28 SO) and RHP Tyler Miller (9.71 ERA, 1-4, 1 SV, 35.1 IP, 51 H, 37 R, 36 ER, 19 BB, 28 SO). Sunday's starter is TBA ... Incarnate Word was picked to finish tied for 12th out of 12 teams in the Southland Conference preseason poll ... The Cardinals are under the leadership of first season head coach Patrick Hallmark.
BISON WELCOME 13 NEWCOMERS in 2018: Thirteen newcomers, including six position players, five pitchers and two utility players, join NDSU for the 2018 season. Position players include infielders Tyler Hillman (Pella, Iowa), Sean Noel (Mahtomedi, Minn.), Ryan Cornell (Omaha, Neb.) and Jack Simonsen (Sioux Falls, S.D.), and outfielders Zach Solano (Rapid City, S.D.) and Thomas Krause (Rochester, Minn.). Pitchers include RHP Tom Ginther (Baraboo, Wis.), RHP Jake Drew (Alexandria, Minn.), LHP Christian Rawlings (Plano, Texas), RHP Gabe Pilla (Bloomington, Minn.) and LHP Mitch O'Connor (Bloomington, Minn.). Utility players include Zach Smith (Rochester, Minn.) and Hunter Koep (Northfield, Minn.).
TURNING TWO: North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017. Infielders Tucker Rohde, Matt Elsenpeter, Bennett Hostetler, Drew Fearing and Mason Pierzchalski, who all played a key role in setting the record for turning two, return for the Bison in 2018.
RECORD-BREAKING DEFENSE: The Bison defense tied the program's single-season record for fielding percentage last season at .973. North Dakota State only committed 55 errors in 56 games.
EIGHT CONSECUTIVE 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark eight straight seasons. The Bison have qualified for six Summit League tournaments, winning the tournament championship in 2014 and reaching the championship game in four of the last six seasons. This is NDSU's 11th season in The Summit League after three seasons as a Division I independent.
PRESEASON PICKS: North Dakota State was picked to finish third in The Summit League Baseball Preseason Poll released Thursday, Feb. 8, by the league office. The Bison tallied 17 points in the poll. Defending Summit League regular season and tournament champion Oral Roberts was named the preseason favorite with 25 points and five first-place votes, while South Dakota State was tabbed second with 20 points and the final first-place vote. NDSU was third, while Western Illinois (14 points), Omaha (nine points) and Fort Wayne (five points) rounded out the poll.
PRESEASON HONORS: North Dakota State senior outfielder was named to The Summit League's Players to Watch List for the 2018 season. Busch, a native of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., was a first team all-league honoree in 2017.
THE COACH: Tod Brown (Arizona, 1994) enters his 11th season as the head coach for the Bison and has a 247-273 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
- Won school-record 19 Summit League games in 2017
- Combined record of 60-50 (.545) over the last two seasons (2016 and 2017)
- 91-47 (.659) record at home since 2010
- .529 winning percentage over the last six seasons
- Four Summit League championship game appearances in the past six seasons
- Six Summit League tournament appearances in the last seven years
- 25 All-Summit League honorees, including eight first team selections
- 21 players who have signed professional contracts
- Coached three NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients: Wes Satzinger (2014), John Straka (2013) and Kole Zimmerman (2008)
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