Friday, April 27
Fargo, N.D.
6:30 p.m.
North Dakota State
vs
Omaha
Photo by: Carrie Snyder
NDSU Baseball Welcomes Omaha to Newman Outdoor Field April 27-29
4/26/2018 3:59:00 PM | Baseball
Game 1: North Dakota State vs. Omaha
Friday, April 27 | 6:30 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp; Keith Brake, color)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Game 2: North Dakota State vs. Omaha
Saturday, April 28 | 1 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
**Radio will join game after the conclusion of NDSU softball**
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Game 3: North Dakota State vs. Omaha
Sunday, April 29 | 1 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp; Keith Brake, color)
**Radio will join game after the conclusion of NDSU softball**
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
NDSU Game Notes | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: North Dakota State (15-18, 7-9 Summit League) is scheduled to welcome the Omaha Mavericks (13-23, 8-7 Summit League) to Newman Outdoor Field for a three-game Summit League series April 27-29. The series opener is slated for 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 27, with games two and three scheduled for 1 p.m. first pitches Saturday, April 28, and Sunday, April 29.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Friday's series opener will air live on Bison 1660 AM and 92.7 FM with Jeff Culhane calling the action and Keith Brake providing color commentary. Saturday and Sunday's games will be joined in progress following the conclusion of NDSU softball's series vs. Fort Wayne. Live stats and live video will be available for all three games in the series.
SERIES HISTORY: The three-game series against Omaha will mark meetings 75-77 in the all-time series that dates all the way back to 1978. NDSU leads the series, 39-35. The Bison swept a doubleheader against the Mavs in Omaha, Neb., earlier this season.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State enters Wednesday with an overall record of 15-18 and a Summit League tally of 7-9 after rolling to a 16-1 victory over Dakota State in the 2018 home opener Wednesday evening ... Through 33 games, the Bison are led at the plate by redshirt junior outfielder Jayse McLean (.282 avg., 25 R, 33 H, 4 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 17 BB, 6 SB) and senior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.280 avg., 10 R, 35 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 14 BB, 1 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: Omaha comes into the weekend with an overall record of 13-23 and a Summit League record of 8-7 after dropping a 6-5 decision in 11 innings to Kansas State Wednesday in Papillion, Neb. ... Through 36 games, the Mavericks are led in the batter's box by junior outfielder Thomas DeBonville (.274 avg., 27 R, 37 H, 5 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 15 BB, 15 SB), sophomore infielder/pitcher Cole Thibodeau (.278 avg., 20 R, 35 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBI, 18 BB, 10 SB) and junior infielder Braden Rogers (.276 avg., 14 R, 37 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 14 BB, 1 SB) ... DeBonville leads and Thibodeau ranks fourth in The Summit League in stolen bases ... On the mound, Omaha is paced by redshirt freshman right-hander Joey Machado (3.43 ERA, 4-4, 60.1 IP, 58 H, 27 R, 23 ER, 23 BB, 40 SO) and junior right-hander Cal Hehnke (3.86 ERA, 0-2, 4 SV, 49.0 IP, 37 H, 23 R, 21 ER, 17 BB, 43 SO) ... Machado ranks fourth in the league in ERA, while Henke is tied for third in saves ... As a team, Omaha ranks fifth in the league in hitting (.238 avg.), fourth in pitching (4.72 ERA) and fourth in fielding (.963 fielding percentage) ... The Mavs were picked to finish fifth in The Summit League preseason poll ... Omaha is under the leadership of second season head coach Evan Porter.
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 the series vs. Omaha. The Osakis, Minn., native is second in fielding assists (454), tied for sixth in stolen bases (40), seventh in games started (174) and 10th in games played (176) and fielding chances (784).
MCLEAN HEATING UP: Jayse McLean is hitting a team-best .333 in his last four games. The Great Falls, Mont., native has three runs, four hits, a triple, two homers, six RBI, a walk and two stolen bases.
TURNING TWO: The Bison lead The Summit League and rank 47th in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 33 games this season with 35. 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 33 games, Mason Pierzchalski leads The Summit League with eight doubles, is fifth in RBI (23), ninth in slugging percentage (.424) and 10th in hits (35).
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 leads The Summit League with 34 hit batters through 33 games. Individually, Bennett Hostetler is tied for third in the league with seven HBP, while Matt Elsenpeter is tied for eighth with five HBP.
TRIPLE LEADERS: Through 33 games, NDSU leads The Summit League with 11 triples. Jayse McLean has a team-best three triples, while Bennett Hostetler, Tucker Rohde and Mason Pierzchalski each have two triples. 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 19th nationally with a .979 fielding percentage in 33 games.
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 262-291 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:
Friday, April 27 | 6:30 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp; Keith Brake, color)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Game 2: North Dakota State vs. Omaha
Saturday, April 28 | 1 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
**Radio will join game after the conclusion of NDSU softball**
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Game 3: North Dakota State vs. Omaha
Sunday, April 29 | 1 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp; Keith Brake, color)
**Radio will join game after the conclusion of NDSU softball**
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
NDSU Game Notes | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: North Dakota State (15-18, 7-9 Summit League) is scheduled to welcome the Omaha Mavericks (13-23, 8-7 Summit League) to Newman Outdoor Field for a three-game Summit League series April 27-29. The series opener is slated for 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 27, with games two and three scheduled for 1 p.m. first pitches Saturday, April 28, and Sunday, April 29.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Friday's series opener will air live on Bison 1660 AM and 92.7 FM with Jeff Culhane calling the action and Keith Brake providing color commentary. Saturday and Sunday's games will be joined in progress following the conclusion of NDSU softball's series vs. Fort Wayne. Live stats and live video will be available for all three games in the series.
SERIES HISTORY: The three-game series against Omaha will mark meetings 75-77 in the all-time series that dates all the way back to 1978. NDSU leads the series, 39-35. The Bison swept a doubleheader against the Mavs in Omaha, Neb., earlier this season.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State enters Wednesday with an overall record of 15-18 and a Summit League tally of 7-9 after rolling to a 16-1 victory over Dakota State in the 2018 home opener Wednesday evening ... Through 33 games, the Bison are led at the plate by redshirt junior outfielder Jayse McLean (.282 avg., 25 R, 33 H, 4 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 17 BB, 6 SB) and senior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.280 avg., 10 R, 35 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 14 BB, 1 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: Omaha comes into the weekend with an overall record of 13-23 and a Summit League record of 8-7 after dropping a 6-5 decision in 11 innings to Kansas State Wednesday in Papillion, Neb. ... Through 36 games, the Mavericks are led in the batter's box by junior outfielder Thomas DeBonville (.274 avg., 27 R, 37 H, 5 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 15 BB, 15 SB), sophomore infielder/pitcher Cole Thibodeau (.278 avg., 20 R, 35 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBI, 18 BB, 10 SB) and junior infielder Braden Rogers (.276 avg., 14 R, 37 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 14 BB, 1 SB) ... DeBonville leads and Thibodeau ranks fourth in The Summit League in stolen bases ... On the mound, Omaha is paced by redshirt freshman right-hander Joey Machado (3.43 ERA, 4-4, 60.1 IP, 58 H, 27 R, 23 ER, 23 BB, 40 SO) and junior right-hander Cal Hehnke (3.86 ERA, 0-2, 4 SV, 49.0 IP, 37 H, 23 R, 21 ER, 17 BB, 43 SO) ... Machado ranks fourth in the league in ERA, while Henke is tied for third in saves ... As a team, Omaha ranks fifth in the league in hitting (.238 avg.), fourth in pitching (4.72 ERA) and fourth in fielding (.963 fielding percentage) ... The Mavs were picked to finish fifth in The Summit League preseason poll ... Omaha is under the leadership of second season head coach Evan Porter.
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 the series vs. Omaha. The Osakis, Minn., native is second in fielding assists (454), tied for sixth in stolen bases (40), seventh in games started (174) and 10th in games played (176) and fielding chances (784).
MCLEAN HEATING UP: Jayse McLean is hitting a team-best .333 in his last four games. The Great Falls, Mont., native has three runs, four hits, a triple, two homers, six RBI, a walk and two stolen bases.
TURNING TWO: The Bison lead The Summit League and rank 47th in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 33 games this season with 35. 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 33 games, Mason Pierzchalski leads The Summit League with eight doubles, is fifth in RBI (23), ninth in slugging percentage (.424) and 10th in hits (35).
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 leads The Summit League with 34 hit batters through 33 games. Individually, Bennett Hostetler is tied for third in the league with seven HBP, while Matt Elsenpeter is tied for eighth with five HBP.
TRIPLE LEADERS: Through 33 games, NDSU leads The Summit League with 11 triples. Jayse McLean has a team-best three triples, while Bennett Hostetler, Tucker Rohde and Mason Pierzchalski each have two triples. 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 19th nationally with a .979 fielding percentage in 33 games.
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 262-291 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)
Players Mentioned
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