Saturday, March 17
Macomb, Ill.
1 p.m.
North Dakota State
at
Western Illinois
Players Mentioned
OF
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OF
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INF
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INF
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P
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P
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INF
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C/OF
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OF
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INF
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OF
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Photo by: Zachary Lucy
Bison Travel to Western Illinois to Open Summit League Play
3/15/2018 9:52:00 AM | Baseball
Game 1: North Dakota State at Western Illinois
Saturday, March 17 | 1 p.m. | Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
Games 2-3: North Dakota State at Western Illinois
Sunday, March 18 | Noon | Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
Live Stats (all games) | NDSU Game Notes (PDF) | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team (7-9) is scheduled to open Summit League play with a three-game series at Western Illinois March 17-18 at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium in Macomb, Ill. The series opener is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday, March 17, with a doubleheader scheduled for Sunday, March 18, at noon to wrap up the series. The Bison and Leathernecks were originally scheduled to play a game Friday, March 16, but it was canceled due to forecasted inclement weather and cold temperatures.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Live statistics will be available for all three games at Western Illinois. For a link to the live stats feed, please visit www.GoBison.com.
SERIES HISTORY: The three-game series at WIU will mark meetings 60-62 in the all-time series that dates back to 2005. Western Illinois leads the series, 31-28. Last season, the Bison went 6-1 against the Leathernecks, winning two of three games on the road, before sweeping WIU at home, and defeating Western Illinois in The Summit League tournament.
BISON NOTES: NDSU enters the week with an overall record of 7-9 after rolling to a 17-4 win over Dickinson State Monday, March 12, in Tucson, Ariz. … Through 16 games, the Bison are led at the plate by senior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.356 avg., 8 R, 21 H, 7 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, .644 SLG%, 7 BB, 1 SB) and redshirt junior outfielder Jayse McLean (.291 avg., 11 R, 16 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB) ... On the mound, North Dakota State is paced by junior right-handed starter Jordan Harms (4.85 ERA, 1-1, 13 IP, 13 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 6 BB, 11 SO) and senior closer Kevin Folman (1.12 ERA, 2 SV, 8 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO) ... Folman is tied for second in saves in the league through 16 contests ... As a team, the Bison are hitting .240 and have a team ERA of 5.61 ... NDSU ranks fourth in the league in team batting average and third in team ERA and team fielding percentage (.975) ... North Dakota State was picked to finish third in The Summit League preseason poll.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The Western Illinois University Leathernecks enter the weekend with a 0-12 overall record after falling at No. 14 Indiana Wednesday, 11-1 ... Through 12 games, the Leathernecks are led offensively by junior infielder Deion Thompson (.256 avg., 5 R, 11 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 8 BB, 5 SB) and senior infielder Johnathan Fleek (.250 avg., 5 R, 11 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 1 SB) ... On the mound, WIU is paced by senior right-handed starter Ryan Dunne (5.63 ERA, 0-4, 1 CG, 24 IP, 22 H, 16 R, 15 ER, 8 BB, 25 SO) ... As a team, Western Illinois is hitting .249 and has an ERA if 5.91 ... WIU's .249 team batting average leads The Summit League ... The Leathernecks were picked to finish fourth in The Summit League preseason poll ... WIU is under the leadership of sixth season head coach Ryan Brownlee.
SUMMIT LEAGUE WEEKLY HONORS: Player of the Week: IF Mason Pierzchalski (March 4), OF Logan Busch (Feb. 26); Pitcher of the Week: RHP Riley Johnson (Feb. 26)
TURNING TWO: The Bison rank second in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 16 games this season with 22. NDSU is also second in double plays per game with 1.38 turned per game. North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017.
PIERZCHALSKI POWER: Mason Pierzchalski is hitting .538 with six runs scored, 14 hits, five doubles, two triples, one homer, 10 RBI, five walks and a 1.000 slugging percentage in his last eight games. Through 16 games, he leads The Summit League in hits (21), RBI (16), doubles (7) and slugging percentage (.644).
FEARING, MCLEAN FINDING THE GAPS: Drew Fearing and Jayse McLean are tied for second on the team and fifth in The Summit League with 16 hits apiece in 16 games.
TRIPLE LEADERS: Through 16 games, NDSU leads The Summit League and ranks fourth nationally with eight triples. Tucker Rohde, Jayse McLean and Mason Pierzchalski lead the team with two triples each, while Bennett Hostetler and Alec Abercrombie have both hit one triple.
MALEC MAKING STRIDES: Sophomore Jake Malec is hitting .400 with four hits, three runs, one double, one home run, four RBI and a .800 slugging percentage in his last four games. Malec hit his first collegiate homer in NDSU's win over Dickinson State Monday.
THOMPSON FINDING HIS SWING: Sophomore outfielder Carter Thompson is hitting a team-high .429 with three hits, three runs, a double, two RBI and four walks in his last four games.
NOTABLE HITTING STREAKS: Bennett Hostetler has hit safely in his last three games.
NOTABLE REACHED BASE STREAKS: Alec Abercrombie has reached base safely in his last five games, while Drew Fearing, Logan Busch, Bennett Hostetler and Matt Elsenpeter have each gotten on-base safely in their last three contests.
JOHNSON THROWS SIXTH NO-HITTER IN PROGRAM HISTORY: Riley Johnson tossed the sixth no-hitter in NDSU program history, and the first no-hitter of the 2018 college baseball season in NDSU's 2-0 win over Central Connecticut State Feb. 23. Johnson was the first Bison to throw a no-no since Jay Mitchell accomplished the feat against Augustana (S.D.) in 2004. During his nine, no-hit innings, Johnson collected a career-high eight strikeouts while tallying only one walk. For his efforts, he was named one of Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week.
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 Logan Busch 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 is in his 11th season as the head coach for the Bison and has a 254-282 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:
Saturday, March 17 | 1 p.m. | Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
Games 2-3: North Dakota State at Western Illinois
Sunday, March 18 | Noon | Macomb, Ill. (Alfred D. Boyer Stadium)
Live Stats (all games) | NDSU Game Notes (PDF) | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team (7-9) is scheduled to open Summit League play with a three-game series at Western Illinois March 17-18 at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium in Macomb, Ill. The series opener is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday, March 17, with a doubleheader scheduled for Sunday, March 18, at noon to wrap up the series. The Bison and Leathernecks were originally scheduled to play a game Friday, March 16, but it was canceled due to forecasted inclement weather and cold temperatures.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Live statistics will be available for all three games at Western Illinois. For a link to the live stats feed, please visit www.GoBison.com.
SERIES HISTORY: The three-game series at WIU will mark meetings 60-62 in the all-time series that dates back to 2005. Western Illinois leads the series, 31-28. Last season, the Bison went 6-1 against the Leathernecks, winning two of three games on the road, before sweeping WIU at home, and defeating Western Illinois in The Summit League tournament.
BISON NOTES: NDSU enters the week with an overall record of 7-9 after rolling to a 17-4 win over Dickinson State Monday, March 12, in Tucson, Ariz. … Through 16 games, the Bison are led at the plate by senior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.356 avg., 8 R, 21 H, 7 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, .644 SLG%, 7 BB, 1 SB) and redshirt junior outfielder Jayse McLean (.291 avg., 11 R, 16 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB) ... On the mound, North Dakota State is paced by junior right-handed starter Jordan Harms (4.85 ERA, 1-1, 13 IP, 13 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 6 BB, 11 SO) and senior closer Kevin Folman (1.12 ERA, 2 SV, 8 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO) ... Folman is tied for second in saves in the league through 16 contests ... As a team, the Bison are hitting .240 and have a team ERA of 5.61 ... NDSU ranks fourth in the league in team batting average and third in team ERA and team fielding percentage (.975) ... North Dakota State was picked to finish third in The Summit League preseason poll.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The Western Illinois University Leathernecks enter the weekend with a 0-12 overall record after falling at No. 14 Indiana Wednesday, 11-1 ... Through 12 games, the Leathernecks are led offensively by junior infielder Deion Thompson (.256 avg., 5 R, 11 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 8 BB, 5 SB) and senior infielder Johnathan Fleek (.250 avg., 5 R, 11 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 1 SB) ... On the mound, WIU is paced by senior right-handed starter Ryan Dunne (5.63 ERA, 0-4, 1 CG, 24 IP, 22 H, 16 R, 15 ER, 8 BB, 25 SO) ... As a team, Western Illinois is hitting .249 and has an ERA if 5.91 ... WIU's .249 team batting average leads The Summit League ... The Leathernecks were picked to finish fourth in The Summit League preseason poll ... WIU is under the leadership of sixth season head coach Ryan Brownlee.
SUMMIT LEAGUE WEEKLY HONORS: Player of the Week: IF Mason Pierzchalski (March 4), OF Logan Busch (Feb. 26); Pitcher of the Week: RHP Riley Johnson (Feb. 26)
TURNING TWO: The Bison rank second in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 16 games this season with 22. NDSU is also second in double plays per game with 1.38 turned per game. North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017.
PIERZCHALSKI POWER: Mason Pierzchalski is hitting .538 with six runs scored, 14 hits, five doubles, two triples, one homer, 10 RBI, five walks and a 1.000 slugging percentage in his last eight games. Through 16 games, he leads The Summit League in hits (21), RBI (16), doubles (7) and slugging percentage (.644).
FEARING, MCLEAN FINDING THE GAPS: Drew Fearing and Jayse McLean are tied for second on the team and fifth in The Summit League with 16 hits apiece in 16 games.
TRIPLE LEADERS: Through 16 games, NDSU leads The Summit League and ranks fourth nationally with eight triples. Tucker Rohde, Jayse McLean and Mason Pierzchalski lead the team with two triples each, while Bennett Hostetler and Alec Abercrombie have both hit one triple.
MALEC MAKING STRIDES: Sophomore Jake Malec is hitting .400 with four hits, three runs, one double, one home run, four RBI and a .800 slugging percentage in his last four games. Malec hit his first collegiate homer in NDSU's win over Dickinson State Monday.
THOMPSON FINDING HIS SWING: Sophomore outfielder Carter Thompson is hitting a team-high .429 with three hits, three runs, a double, two RBI and four walks in his last four games.
NOTABLE HITTING STREAKS: Bennett Hostetler has hit safely in his last three games.
NOTABLE REACHED BASE STREAKS: Alec Abercrombie has reached base safely in his last five games, while Drew Fearing, Logan Busch, Bennett Hostetler and Matt Elsenpeter have each gotten on-base safely in their last three contests.
JOHNSON THROWS SIXTH NO-HITTER IN PROGRAM HISTORY: Riley Johnson tossed the sixth no-hitter in NDSU program history, and the first no-hitter of the 2018 college baseball season in NDSU's 2-0 win over Central Connecticut State Feb. 23. Johnson was the first Bison to throw a no-no since Jay Mitchell accomplished the feat against Augustana (S.D.) in 2004. During his nine, no-hit innings, Johnson collected a career-high eight strikeouts while tallying only one walk. For his efforts, he was named one of Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week.
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 Logan Busch 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 is in his 11th season as the head coach for the Bison and has a 254-282 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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