Thursday, April 12
Sioux Falls, S.D.
11 a.m.
North Dakota State
vs
South Dakota State
Photo by: Zachary Lucy
North Dakota State Set to Play South Dakota State in Sioux Falls
4/11/2018 11:47:00 AM | Baseball
Game 1: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State
Thursday, April 12 | 11 a.m. | Sioux Falls, S.D. (Karras Park Home of Ronken Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio
Game 2: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State
Thursday, April 12 | 2:30 p.m. (approx.) | Sioux Falls, S.D. (Karras Park Home of Ronken Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio
Game 3: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State
Friday, April 13 | 9:30 a.m. | Sioux Falls, S.D. (Karras Park Home of Ronken Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio
NDSU Game Notes | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team (13-14, 6-5 Summit League) wraps up the first-half of Summit League play with a three-game series against South Dakota State (7-19, 5-5 Summit League) Thursday, April 12, and Friday, April 13, at Karras Park Home of Ronken Field on the Augustana University campus in Sioux Falls, S.D. The two teams will play a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday before concluding the series with a single game Friday at 9:30 a.m.
MEDIA COVERAGE: The three-game series will air live on Bison 1660 AM and 92.7 FM with Jeff Culhane calling the action. Live statistics and a live audio feed will also be available for each game at www.GoBison.com.
SERIES HISTORY: The three-game series against the Jackrabbits will mark meetings 181-183 in the all-time series that dates back to 1956 ... South Dakota State leads the series, 114-66 ... Last season, NDSU posted a 5-3 record against the Jacks, winning two of three games in Brookings and Fargo, and splitting a pair of contests in The Summit League Baseball Championship in Tulsa, Okla.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State enters Thursday with an overall record of 13-14 and a Summit League record of 6-5 after sweeping a doubleheader at Omaha April 5 ... Through 27 games, the Bison are led at the plate by senior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.295 avg., 8 R, 31 H, 7 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 10 BB, 1 SB), redshirt junior outfielder Jayse McLean (.283 avg., 21 R, 28 H, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 12 BB, 4 SB) and sophomore infielder/designated hitter Tucker Rohde (.264 avg., 9 R, 23 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 9 RBI, 10 BB) ... On the mound, North Dakota State is paced by reigning Summit League Pitcher of the Week Blake Stockert (3.09 ERA, 3-1, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 32.0 IP, 30 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 11 BB, 24 SO), sophomore Riley Johnson (4.11 ERA, 3-4, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 50.1 IP, 46 H, 28 R, 23 ER, 20 BB, 34 SO) and senior Kevin Folman (1.17 ERA, 2-1, 4 SV, 23.0 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 23 SO) ... As a team, NDSU ranks sixth in The Summit League in team hitting (.240 avg.), third in team pitching (4.42 ERA) and first in team fielding percentage (.980) ... The Bison were picked to finish third in The Summit League preseason poll.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: South Dakota State comes into Thursday with an overall record of 7-20 and a Summit League tally of 5-5 after losing a non-league game at Creighton Tuesday, 9-4 ... Through 27 contests, the Jackrabbits are led offensively by sophomore infielder Josh Falk (.274 avg., 10 R, 26 H, 6 2B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 8 BB), and senior infielders Tony Kjolsing (.269 avg., 24 R, 28 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 23 BB, 10 SB) and Newt Johnson (.265 avg., 19 R, 26 H, 5 2B, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 20 BB, 5 SB) ... Johnson ranks third in the league in RBI and tied for second in homers, while Kjolsing is tied for second in stolen bases ... On the mound, the Jacks are paced by sophomore left-hander Brady Stover (3.38 ERA, 1-1, 24.0 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 11 BB, 38 SO) and sophomore right-hander Tyler Olmstead (3.97 ERA, 2-1, 34.0 IP, 33 H, 15 R, 15 ER, 14 BB, 35 SO) ... As a team, SDSU ranks third in the league in team hitting (.250 avg.), fifth in team pitching (6.06 ERA) and second in team fielding percentage (.971) ... The Jacks were picked to finish second in The Summit League preseason poll ... South Dakota State is under the direction of second season head coach Rob Bishop.
SUMMIT LEAGUE WEEKLY HONORS: Player of the Week: IF Mason Pierzchalski (March 4), OF Logan Busch (Feb. 26); Pitcher of the Week: LHP Blake Stockert (April 9), RHP Riley Johnson (Feb. 26, March 26)
FEARING ASCENDING NDSU CAREER RECORD LISTS: Entering the series against SDSU, Drew Fearing is tied with Chris Olson (1989-92) for first in career walks at North Dakota State with 82. Fearing is tied for sixth in career stolen bases with 40, and is seventh in career at bats (618) and tied for seventh in career games started (168).
FOLMAN CLOSING IN CAREER SAVES RECORD: Kevin Folman is currently fourth in career saves at North Dakota State with 13. He is just five saves away from tying Neil Wagner for most career saves (18 from 2003-05). With two more saves, he will tie Chris Bartosiewski (1994-97) and Kyle Kingsley (2010-13) for second in career saves.
TURNING TWO: The Bison lead The Summit League and rank ninth in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 27 games this season with 33. NDSU is fourth in double plays per game with 1.22 turned per game. North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017.
PIERZCHALSKI AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS: After 27 games, Mason Pierzchalski leads The Summit League with seven doubles, is fifth in RBI (20), tied for seventh in hits (31) and tied for eighth in batting average (.295).
ELSENPETER ACCELERATING IN LEAGUE PLAY: Matt Elsenpeter is hitting a team-high .325 in NDSU's 11 Summit League games. The Watertown, Minn., native has three runs, 13 hits, two doubles and five RBI in league action heading into this week's series vs. South Dakota State.
GETTING ON BASE ... THE PAINFUL WAY: NDSU ranks second in The Summit League with 27 hit batters through 27 games. Individually, Bennett Hostetler is fourth in the league with six HBP, while Matt Elsenpeter is tied for fifth with five HBP.
TRIPLE LEADERS: Through 27 games, NDSU leads The Summit League and ranks 47th nationally with nine triples. Bennett Hostetler, Tucker Rohde, Jayse McLean and Mason Pierzchalski lead the team with two triples each, while Alec Abercrombie has hit one triple.
DEFENDING AT A HIGH LEVEL: Through 11 Summit League games, the Bison have only committed four errors for an impressive .990 fielding percentage. On the season, NDSU leads The Summit League with a .980 fielding percentage in 27 games.
NOTABLE HITTING STREAKS: Jayse McLean and Matt Elsenpeter have each tallied at least one hit in their last three games.
NOTABLE REACHED BASE STREAKS: Logan Busch has reached base safely in his last 12 games, while Jayse McLean has gotten on base in his last seven 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 260-287 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:
Thursday, April 12 | 11 a.m. | Sioux Falls, S.D. (Karras Park Home of Ronken Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio
Game 2: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State
Thursday, April 12 | 2:30 p.m. (approx.) | Sioux Falls, S.D. (Karras Park Home of Ronken Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio
Game 3: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State
Friday, April 13 | 9:30 a.m. | Sioux Falls, S.D. (Karras Park Home of Ronken Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio
NDSU Game Notes | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team (13-14, 6-5 Summit League) wraps up the first-half of Summit League play with a three-game series against South Dakota State (7-19, 5-5 Summit League) Thursday, April 12, and Friday, April 13, at Karras Park Home of Ronken Field on the Augustana University campus in Sioux Falls, S.D. The two teams will play a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday before concluding the series with a single game Friday at 9:30 a.m.
MEDIA COVERAGE: The three-game series will air live on Bison 1660 AM and 92.7 FM with Jeff Culhane calling the action. Live statistics and a live audio feed will also be available for each game at www.GoBison.com.
SERIES HISTORY: The three-game series against the Jackrabbits will mark meetings 181-183 in the all-time series that dates back to 1956 ... South Dakota State leads the series, 114-66 ... Last season, NDSU posted a 5-3 record against the Jacks, winning two of three games in Brookings and Fargo, and splitting a pair of contests in The Summit League Baseball Championship in Tulsa, Okla.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State enters Thursday with an overall record of 13-14 and a Summit League record of 6-5 after sweeping a doubleheader at Omaha April 5 ... Through 27 games, the Bison are led at the plate by senior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.295 avg., 8 R, 31 H, 7 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 10 BB, 1 SB), redshirt junior outfielder Jayse McLean (.283 avg., 21 R, 28 H, 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 12 BB, 4 SB) and sophomore infielder/designated hitter Tucker Rohde (.264 avg., 9 R, 23 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 9 RBI, 10 BB) ... On the mound, North Dakota State is paced by reigning Summit League Pitcher of the Week Blake Stockert (3.09 ERA, 3-1, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 32.0 IP, 30 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 11 BB, 24 SO), sophomore Riley Johnson (4.11 ERA, 3-4, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 50.1 IP, 46 H, 28 R, 23 ER, 20 BB, 34 SO) and senior Kevin Folman (1.17 ERA, 2-1, 4 SV, 23.0 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 23 SO) ... As a team, NDSU ranks sixth in The Summit League in team hitting (.240 avg.), third in team pitching (4.42 ERA) and first in team fielding percentage (.980) ... The Bison were picked to finish third in The Summit League preseason poll.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: South Dakota State comes into Thursday with an overall record of 7-20 and a Summit League tally of 5-5 after losing a non-league game at Creighton Tuesday, 9-4 ... Through 27 contests, the Jackrabbits are led offensively by sophomore infielder Josh Falk (.274 avg., 10 R, 26 H, 6 2B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 8 BB), and senior infielders Tony Kjolsing (.269 avg., 24 R, 28 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 23 BB, 10 SB) and Newt Johnson (.265 avg., 19 R, 26 H, 5 2B, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 20 BB, 5 SB) ... Johnson ranks third in the league in RBI and tied for second in homers, while Kjolsing is tied for second in stolen bases ... On the mound, the Jacks are paced by sophomore left-hander Brady Stover (3.38 ERA, 1-1, 24.0 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 11 BB, 38 SO) and sophomore right-hander Tyler Olmstead (3.97 ERA, 2-1, 34.0 IP, 33 H, 15 R, 15 ER, 14 BB, 35 SO) ... As a team, SDSU ranks third in the league in team hitting (.250 avg.), fifth in team pitching (6.06 ERA) and second in team fielding percentage (.971) ... The Jacks were picked to finish second in The Summit League preseason poll ... South Dakota State is under the direction of second season head coach Rob Bishop.
SUMMIT LEAGUE WEEKLY HONORS: Player of the Week: IF Mason Pierzchalski (March 4), OF Logan Busch (Feb. 26); Pitcher of the Week: LHP Blake Stockert (April 9), RHP Riley Johnson (Feb. 26, March 26)
FEARING ASCENDING NDSU CAREER RECORD LISTS: Entering the series against SDSU, Drew Fearing is tied with Chris Olson (1989-92) for first in career walks at North Dakota State with 82. Fearing is tied for sixth in career stolen bases with 40, and is seventh in career at bats (618) and tied for seventh in career games started (168).
FOLMAN CLOSING IN CAREER SAVES RECORD: Kevin Folman is currently fourth in career saves at North Dakota State with 13. He is just five saves away from tying Neil Wagner for most career saves (18 from 2003-05). With two more saves, he will tie Chris Bartosiewski (1994-97) and Kyle Kingsley (2010-13) for second in career saves.
TURNING TWO: The Bison lead The Summit League and rank ninth in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 27 games this season with 33. NDSU is fourth in double plays per game with 1.22 turned per game. North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017.
PIERZCHALSKI AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS: After 27 games, Mason Pierzchalski leads The Summit League with seven doubles, is fifth in RBI (20), tied for seventh in hits (31) and tied for eighth in batting average (.295).
ELSENPETER ACCELERATING IN LEAGUE PLAY: Matt Elsenpeter is hitting a team-high .325 in NDSU's 11 Summit League games. The Watertown, Minn., native has three runs, 13 hits, two doubles and five RBI in league action heading into this week's series vs. South Dakota State.
GETTING ON BASE ... THE PAINFUL WAY: NDSU ranks second in The Summit League with 27 hit batters through 27 games. Individually, Bennett Hostetler is fourth in the league with six HBP, while Matt Elsenpeter is tied for fifth with five HBP.
TRIPLE LEADERS: Through 27 games, NDSU leads The Summit League and ranks 47th nationally with nine triples. Bennett Hostetler, Tucker Rohde, Jayse McLean and Mason Pierzchalski lead the team with two triples each, while Alec Abercrombie has hit one triple.
DEFENDING AT A HIGH LEVEL: Through 11 Summit League games, the Bison have only committed four errors for an impressive .990 fielding percentage. On the season, NDSU leads The Summit League with a .980 fielding percentage in 27 games.
NOTABLE HITTING STREAKS: Jayse McLean and Matt Elsenpeter have each tallied at least one hit in their last three games.
NOTABLE REACHED BASE STREAKS: Logan Busch has reached base safely in his last 12 games, while Jayse McLean has gotten on base in his last seven 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 260-287 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)
Players Mentioned
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