Friday, March 9
Tucson, Ariz.
7 p.m.
North Dakota State
at
Arizona
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
P
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INF
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P
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P
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OF
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INF
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Photo by: Carrie Snyder
NDSU Baseball Treks to Pac-12 Foe Arizona for Three-Game Series March 9-11
3/7/2018 5:06:00 PM | Baseball
Game 1: North Dakota State at Arizona
Friday, March 9 | 6 p.m. MST | Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)
Game 2: North Dakota State at Arizona
Saturday, March 10 | 2 p.m. MST | Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)
Game 3: North Dakota State at Arizona
Sunday, March 11 | 1 p.m. MST | Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)
North Dakota State vs. Dickinson State
Monday, March 12 | 6:30 p.m. MST | Tucson, Ariz. (Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium)
Live Stats (Arizona) | Live Video (Arizona) | NDSU Game Notes (PDF) | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: North Dakota State (6-6) is scheduled to travel to Tucson, Ariz., to take on the University of Arizona Wildcats (6-6) in a three-game series Friday, March 9, through Sunday, March 11, at Hi Corbett Field. The series opener is slated for a 6 p.m. MST first pitch Friday, with game two scheduled for 2 p.m. MST Saturday. The series finale is slated for a 1 p.m. MST first pitch Sunday. The Bison will also play Dickinson State (N.D.) Monday, March 12, at 6:30 p.m. MST at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Arizona: Live statistics and live video will be available for all three games at Arizona. For links, please visit www.GoBison.com ... Dickinson State: Live statistics will be available for Monday's game vs. Dickinson State in Tucson. Please visit www.GoBison.com for a link to the live stats feed.
SERIES RECORDS: Arizona: The three-game series at Arizona will mark meetings nine, 10 and 11 in the all-time series that dates back to 2011. The Wildcats lead the series, 7-1. NDSU last faced Arizona during the 2015 season, with the Wildcats winning both games of a two-game set. North Dakota State's lone win in the series occurred in 2012, when the Bison took down the Wildcats, 8-2, in the second game of a three-game series. It was NDSU's first win over a ranked Division I team. ... Dickinson State: Monday's game against the Blue Hawks will be the 36th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1983, and the first meeting since 1995. NDSU leads the series, 30-5. The last time the two teams met was during the 1995 season, with North Dakota State defeating Dickinson State in Dickinson, N.D., 3-0.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State enters the week with an overall record of 6-6 after splitting a four-game series at Northern Colorado March 2-4 ... Through 12 games, the Bison are led at the plate by senior infielders Mason Pierzchalski (.362 AVG., 5 R, 17 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, .660 SLG%, 6 BB, .434 OB%, 1 SB) and Drew Fearing (.333 AVG., 5 R, 15 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 2 HBP), and redshirt junior outfielder Jayse McLean (.295 AVG., 9 R, 13 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 1 HBP) ... Pierzchalski leads The Summit League in RBI and hits, is tied for second in home runs, and ranks third in batting average ... Fearing ranks second in the league in hits and fifth in batting average ... On the mound, the Bison are paced by senior left-handed starter Blake Stockert (0.00 ERA, 1-0, 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO), junior right-handed starter Jordan Harms (1.59 ERA, 1-0, 11.1 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 SO), senior left-handed reliever Chris Choles (2.77 ERA, 1-0, 1 SV, 13.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 4 SO), and senior closer Kevin Folman (0.00 ERA, 0-0, 2 SV, 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO) ... Choles ranks sixth in The Summit League in ERA, while Folman is second in saves ... As a team, the Bison lead the league in team batting with a .249 average and rank second in team pitching with a 4.27 ERA.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Arizona: The Arizona Wildcats enter the weekend with an overall tally of 6-6 defeating San Diego State at home Tuesday, 13-4 ... Through 12 contests, Arizona is led in the batter's box by junior catcher Cesar Salazar (.333 AVG., 2 R, 13 H, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 6 HBP, 2 SF, 1 SB) and junior outfielder Alfonso Rivas III (.306 AVG., 8 R, 15 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, .531 SLG%, 4 BB, 1 SF, 1 SB) ... The Wildcats are projected to throw junior RHP Cody Deason (0.93 ERA, 1-0, 19.1 IP, 12 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 11 BB, 15 SO), junior RHP Michael Flynn (3.75 ERA, 1-0, 12.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 9 SO) and sophomore LHP Randy Labaut (2.18 ERA, 0-1, 20.2 IP, 18 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO) in the three-game series ... In relief, Arizona is led by senior closer Tylor Megill (1.86 ERA, 0-1, 3 SV, 9.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 11 SO) ... As a team, the Wildcats are hitting .229 and have a team ERA of 2.30 ... Arizona was picked to finish fourth out of 11 teams in the Pac-12 preseason poll ... The Wildcats are under the direction of third season head coach Jay Johnson. ... Dickinson State: The Dickinson State Blue Hawks are scheduled to open their 2018 season this weekend in Tucson, Arizona ... DSU is slated to play Mount Marty College, Concordia - St. Paul, Framingham State and Dort College before facing the Bison Monday ... Last season, Dickinson State compiled an overall record of 22-27 and finished fifth in the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) with an 11-13 conference record ... The Blue Hawks return two of their three top hitters from 2017 in senior catcher Jacob Cuch (.431 AVG., 30 R, 75 H, 18 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 44 RBI, 15 BB, 8 HBP, 1 SB) and senior infielder Dylan Skabo (.414 AVG., 45 R, 60 H, 4 2B, 2 3B, 14 RBI, 23 BB, 8 HBP, 13 SB) ... On the mound, DSU's top returner is senior right-handed reliever Jon Koessl (7.50 ERA, 3-2, 36.0 IP, 45 H, 33 R, 30 ER, 17 BB, 27 SO) ... The Blue Hawks were picked to finish seventh out of nine teams in the NSAA preseason poll ... Dickinson State is under the leadership of seventh season head coach Jason Watson.
SUMMIT LEAGUE WEEKLY HONORS: Mason Pierzchalski was named The Summit League Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 26 - March 4 after hitting .611 (11-for-18) with a 1.111 slugging percentage and .682 on-base percentage in NDSU's five games last week. The Sammamish, Wash., native compiled nine RBI, four walks, three runs scored and didn't strikeout, while belting six extra base hits, including four doubles, a triple and a homer.
Previous Summit League Player/Pitcher of the Week honorees for NDSU: OF Logan Busch (Player of the Week, Feb. 26), RHP Riley Johnson (Pitcher of the Week, Feb. 26)
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.
TURNING TWO: The Bison rank second in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 12 games this season with 18. NDSU is fifth in double plays per game with 1.50 turned per game. North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017.
PIERZCHALSKI POWER: Mason Pierzchalski is hitting a blistering .714 with three runs scored, 10 hits, four doubles, one triple, one homer, eight RBI, four walks and a 1.357 slugging percentage in his last four games. Through 12 games, he leads The Summit League in hitting (17), RBI (14) and total bases (31).
FEARING FINDING THE GAPS: Drew Fearing ranks second on the team and in The Summit League with 15 hits in 12 games. He also is second on the team and fifth in the league with a .333 batting average.
TRIPLE LEADERS: Through 12 games, NDSU leads The Summit League and ranks 11th nationally with six triples. Tucker Rohde leads the team with two triples while four other Bison have each hit one triple.
BROWN ACHIEVES COACHING MILESTONE: Eleventh-season head coach Tod Brown won his 250th career game in the Bison's 2-0 shutout victory over Central Connecticut State Feb. 23. Brown currently has the second-most wins in NDSU baseball history.
ROHDE HEATING UP AT THE PLATE: Tucker Rohde is hitting .318 with two runs, seven hits, two triples, two RBI and six walks in his last eight games.
NOTABLE HITTING STREAKS: Mason Pierzchalski has tallied a hit in each of his last five games, while Tucker Rohde has hit safely in his last three contests.
NOTABLE REACHED BASE STREAKS: Mason Pierzchalski has reached base safely in his last five contests.
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 (Arizona, 1994) is in his 11th season as the head coach for the Bison and has a 253-279 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 9 | 6 p.m. MST | Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)
Game 2: North Dakota State at Arizona
Saturday, March 10 | 2 p.m. MST | Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)
Game 3: North Dakota State at Arizona
Sunday, March 11 | 1 p.m. MST | Tucson, Ariz. (Hi Corbett Field)
North Dakota State vs. Dickinson State
Monday, March 12 | 6:30 p.m. MST | Tucson, Ariz. (Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium)
Live Stats (Arizona) | Live Video (Arizona) | NDSU Game Notes (PDF) | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: North Dakota State (6-6) is scheduled to travel to Tucson, Ariz., to take on the University of Arizona Wildcats (6-6) in a three-game series Friday, March 9, through Sunday, March 11, at Hi Corbett Field. The series opener is slated for a 6 p.m. MST first pitch Friday, with game two scheduled for 2 p.m. MST Saturday. The series finale is slated for a 1 p.m. MST first pitch Sunday. The Bison will also play Dickinson State (N.D.) Monday, March 12, at 6:30 p.m. MST at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Arizona: Live statistics and live video will be available for all three games at Arizona. For links, please visit www.GoBison.com ... Dickinson State: Live statistics will be available for Monday's game vs. Dickinson State in Tucson. Please visit www.GoBison.com for a link to the live stats feed.
SERIES RECORDS: Arizona: The three-game series at Arizona will mark meetings nine, 10 and 11 in the all-time series that dates back to 2011. The Wildcats lead the series, 7-1. NDSU last faced Arizona during the 2015 season, with the Wildcats winning both games of a two-game set. North Dakota State's lone win in the series occurred in 2012, when the Bison took down the Wildcats, 8-2, in the second game of a three-game series. It was NDSU's first win over a ranked Division I team. ... Dickinson State: Monday's game against the Blue Hawks will be the 36th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1983, and the first meeting since 1995. NDSU leads the series, 30-5. The last time the two teams met was during the 1995 season, with North Dakota State defeating Dickinson State in Dickinson, N.D., 3-0.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State enters the week with an overall record of 6-6 after splitting a four-game series at Northern Colorado March 2-4 ... Through 12 games, the Bison are led at the plate by senior infielders Mason Pierzchalski (.362 AVG., 5 R, 17 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, .660 SLG%, 6 BB, .434 OB%, 1 SB) and Drew Fearing (.333 AVG., 5 R, 15 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 2 HBP), and redshirt junior outfielder Jayse McLean (.295 AVG., 9 R, 13 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 1 HBP) ... Pierzchalski leads The Summit League in RBI and hits, is tied for second in home runs, and ranks third in batting average ... Fearing ranks second in the league in hits and fifth in batting average ... On the mound, the Bison are paced by senior left-handed starter Blake Stockert (0.00 ERA, 1-0, 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO), junior right-handed starter Jordan Harms (1.59 ERA, 1-0, 11.1 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 SO), senior left-handed reliever Chris Choles (2.77 ERA, 1-0, 1 SV, 13.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 4 SO), and senior closer Kevin Folman (0.00 ERA, 0-0, 2 SV, 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO) ... Choles ranks sixth in The Summit League in ERA, while Folman is second in saves ... As a team, the Bison lead the league in team batting with a .249 average and rank second in team pitching with a 4.27 ERA.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Arizona: The Arizona Wildcats enter the weekend with an overall tally of 6-6 defeating San Diego State at home Tuesday, 13-4 ... Through 12 contests, Arizona is led in the batter's box by junior catcher Cesar Salazar (.333 AVG., 2 R, 13 H, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 6 HBP, 2 SF, 1 SB) and junior outfielder Alfonso Rivas III (.306 AVG., 8 R, 15 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, .531 SLG%, 4 BB, 1 SF, 1 SB) ... The Wildcats are projected to throw junior RHP Cody Deason (0.93 ERA, 1-0, 19.1 IP, 12 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 11 BB, 15 SO), junior RHP Michael Flynn (3.75 ERA, 1-0, 12.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 9 SO) and sophomore LHP Randy Labaut (2.18 ERA, 0-1, 20.2 IP, 18 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 14 SO) in the three-game series ... In relief, Arizona is led by senior closer Tylor Megill (1.86 ERA, 0-1, 3 SV, 9.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 11 SO) ... As a team, the Wildcats are hitting .229 and have a team ERA of 2.30 ... Arizona was picked to finish fourth out of 11 teams in the Pac-12 preseason poll ... The Wildcats are under the direction of third season head coach Jay Johnson. ... Dickinson State: The Dickinson State Blue Hawks are scheduled to open their 2018 season this weekend in Tucson, Arizona ... DSU is slated to play Mount Marty College, Concordia - St. Paul, Framingham State and Dort College before facing the Bison Monday ... Last season, Dickinson State compiled an overall record of 22-27 and finished fifth in the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) with an 11-13 conference record ... The Blue Hawks return two of their three top hitters from 2017 in senior catcher Jacob Cuch (.431 AVG., 30 R, 75 H, 18 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 44 RBI, 15 BB, 8 HBP, 1 SB) and senior infielder Dylan Skabo (.414 AVG., 45 R, 60 H, 4 2B, 2 3B, 14 RBI, 23 BB, 8 HBP, 13 SB) ... On the mound, DSU's top returner is senior right-handed reliever Jon Koessl (7.50 ERA, 3-2, 36.0 IP, 45 H, 33 R, 30 ER, 17 BB, 27 SO) ... The Blue Hawks were picked to finish seventh out of nine teams in the NSAA preseason poll ... Dickinson State is under the leadership of seventh season head coach Jason Watson.
SUMMIT LEAGUE WEEKLY HONORS: Mason Pierzchalski was named The Summit League Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 26 - March 4 after hitting .611 (11-for-18) with a 1.111 slugging percentage and .682 on-base percentage in NDSU's five games last week. The Sammamish, Wash., native compiled nine RBI, four walks, three runs scored and didn't strikeout, while belting six extra base hits, including four doubles, a triple and a homer.
Previous Summit League Player/Pitcher of the Week honorees for NDSU: OF Logan Busch (Player of the Week, Feb. 26), RHP Riley Johnson (Pitcher of the Week, Feb. 26)
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.
TURNING TWO: The Bison rank second in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 12 games this season with 18. NDSU is fifth in double plays per game with 1.50 turned per game. North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017.
PIERZCHALSKI POWER: Mason Pierzchalski is hitting a blistering .714 with three runs scored, 10 hits, four doubles, one triple, one homer, eight RBI, four walks and a 1.357 slugging percentage in his last four games. Through 12 games, he leads The Summit League in hitting (17), RBI (14) and total bases (31).
FEARING FINDING THE GAPS: Drew Fearing ranks second on the team and in The Summit League with 15 hits in 12 games. He also is second on the team and fifth in the league with a .333 batting average.
TRIPLE LEADERS: Through 12 games, NDSU leads The Summit League and ranks 11th nationally with six triples. Tucker Rohde leads the team with two triples while four other Bison have each hit one triple.
BROWN ACHIEVES COACHING MILESTONE: Eleventh-season head coach Tod Brown won his 250th career game in the Bison's 2-0 shutout victory over Central Connecticut State Feb. 23. Brown currently has the second-most wins in NDSU baseball history.
ROHDE HEATING UP AT THE PLATE: Tucker Rohde is hitting .318 with two runs, seven hits, two triples, two RBI and six walks in his last eight games.
NOTABLE HITTING STREAKS: Mason Pierzchalski has tallied a hit in each of his last five games, while Tucker Rohde has hit safely in his last three contests.
NOTABLE REACHED BASE STREAKS: Mason Pierzchalski has reached base safely in his last five contests.
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 (Arizona, 1994) is in his 11th season as the head coach for the Bison and has a 253-279 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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