Baseball | 4/24/2018 6:33:00 PM

North Dakota State vs. Dakota State
Wednesday, April 25 | 6:30 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Keith Brake, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

NDSU Game Notes | NDSU Baseball on Twitter

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        SCENE SETTER: After 32 consecutive games away from Fargo, the North Dakota State baseball team (14-18) is scheduled to host the Dakota State University Trojans (4-23) in the 2018 home opener on Wednesday, April 25, at 6:30 p.m. under the lights at Newman Outdoor Field.
 
        MEDIA COVERAGE: Wednesday's home opener will air live on Bison 1660 AM, 92.7 FM, Bison1660.com and the Bison 1660 app with Keith Brake calling the action. Live statistics and live video will also be available for the contest at www.GoBison.com.
 
        SERIES HISTORY: The Bison and Trojans will meet for the fourth time Wednesday since the series began in 1996. NDSU has won the three previous meetings. North Dakota State last faced Dakota State during the 2015 season, with the Bison earning a 9-1 victory in Fargo.
 
        BISON NOTES: North Dakota State enters Wednesday with an overall record of 14-18 and a Summit League tally of 7-9 after dropping two of three games against Western Illinois April 20-22 in Omaha, Neb. ... Through 32 games, the Bison are led at the plate by senior infielders Mason Pierzchalski (.285 avg., 9 R, 35 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 13 BB, 1 SB) and Matt Elsenpeter (.260 avg., 14 R, 27 H, 5 2B, 11 RBI, 6 BB, 2 SB), and redshirt junior outfielder Jayse McLean (.263 avg., 24 R, 30 H, 4 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 17 BB, 6 SB) ... On the mound, NDSU is paced by senior LHP Blake Stockert (3.61 ERA, 4-1, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 42.1 IP, 44 H, 18 R, 17 ER, 13 BB, 36 SO), sophomore RHP Riley Johnson (4.52 ERA, 3-5, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 63.2 IP, 63 H, 37 R, 32 ER, 23 BB, 48 SO) and senior RHP Kevin Folman (1.61 ERA, 2-2, 5 SV, 28.0 IP, 20 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 31 SO) ... As a team, the Bison rank sixth in The Summit League in hitting (.232 avg.), third in pitching (4.64 ERA) and first in fielding (.979 fielding percentage) ... North Dakota State was picked to finish third in The Summit League preseason poll.
 
        SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:  Dakota State enters Wednesday with an overall record of 4-23 after winning three of four games at Dickinson State University April 21-22 ... Through 27 games, the Trojans are paced offensively by senior pitcher/infielder Connor Nagel (.241 avg., 6 R, 14 H, 5 2B, 15 RBI, 11 BB, 1 SB) and junior infielder Jalen Boyd (.289 avg., 7 R, 24 H, 3 2B, 11 RBI, 6 BB) ... On the mound, DSU is led by Nagel (7.20 ERA, 1-6, 1 CG, 40.0 IP, 49 H, 38 R, 32 ER, 21 BB, 17 SO) ... As a team, Dakota State has a .241 batting average, 11.48 ERA and .923 fielding percentage ... The Trojans were picked to finish ninth out of nine teams in the North Star Athletic Association preseason poll ... Dakota State is under the direction of second season head Geoff Schaab.           
 
        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)
 
        FOLMAN CLOSING IN CAREER SAVES RECORD: Kevin Folman is currently fourth in career saves at North Dakota State with 14. He is just four saves away from tying Neil Wagner for most career saves (18 from 2003-05). With one more save, he will tie Chris Bartosiewski (1994-97) and Kyle Kingsley (2010-13) for second in career saves.
 
        FEARING ASCENDING NDSU CAREER RECORD CHARTS: Drew Fearing is the all-time leader in walks at NDSU with 85 and continues to climb the career record charts in other categories entering Wednesday's game. The Osakis, Minn., native is second in fielding assists (452), tied for sixth in stolen bases (40), seventh in games started (173) and 10th in games played (175) and fielding chances (781).
       
        TURNING TWO: The Bison lead The Summit League and rank 55th in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 32 games this season with 34. NDSU is seventh in double plays per game with 1.06 turned per game. North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017.
 
        PIERZCHALSKI AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS: After 32 games, Mason Pierzchalski leads The Summit League with eight doubles, is fifth in RBI (23), and eighth in hits (33) and slugging percentage (.431).
 
        ELSENPETER ACCELERATING IN LEAGUE PLAY: Matt Elsenpeter is hitting a team-high .328 in NDSU's 16 Summit League games. The Watertown, Minn., native has four runs, 19 hits, two doubles and seven RBI in league action heading into Wednesday.
 
        GETTING ON BASE ... THE PAINFUL WAY: NDSU ranks second in The Summit League with 31 hit batters through 32 games. Individually, Bennett Hostetler is tied for third in the league with seven HBP, while Matt Elsenpeter is tied for seventh with five HBP.
 
        TRIPLE LEADERS:  Through 32 games, NDSU leads The Summit League with 10 triples. Bennett Hostetler, Tucker Rohde, Jayse McLean and Mason Pierzchalski lead the team with two triples each, while Drew Fearing and Alec Abercrombie have each hit one triple.
 
        DEFENDING AT A HIGH LEVEL: Through 16 Summit League games, the Bison have only committed nine errors for an impressive .984 fielding percentage. On the season, NDSU leads The Summit League and ranks 23rd nationally with a .979 fielding percentage in 32 games -- all away from Fargo.
 
        NOTABLE HITTING STREAKS: None
 
        NOTABLE REACHED BASE STREAKS: None
 
        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 261-291 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)