Friday, May 18
Fargo, N.D.
12 p.m.
North Dakota State
vs
South Dakota State
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
Photo by: Zachary Lucy
NDSU Baseball Hosts South Dakota State May 17-19 to Close Out Regular Season
5/16/2018 3:32:00 PM | Baseball
Game 1: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State
Thursday, May 17 | 6:30 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Game 2: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State
Friday, May 18 | 6:30 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Senior Day
Game 3: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State
Saturday, May 19 | 1 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
NDSU Game Notes | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team (22-22, 12-13 Summit League) is scheduled to host the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits (16-27, 14-10 Summit League) in the final series of the regular season May 17-19 at Newman Outdoor Field. The series opener is slated for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17, with game two scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Friday, May 18. The regular season finale and Senior Day is slated for Saturday, May 19, at 1 p.m.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Bison 1660 AM and 92.7 FM are scheduled to air all three games in the series this weekend with Jeff Culhane calling the action. Live video, live audio and live stats will be available for every game.
SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT BERTH ON THE LINE: NDSU needs to win one of the three games against the Jackrabbits to clinch a spot in The Summit League Baseball Championship. The Bison could also clinch a berth in the tournament with an Omaha loss to Western Illinois. North Dakota State could secure the two seed by sweeping the Jacks, or claim the three seed with two or three wins vs. SDSU, coupled with two or three losses by Western Illinois at Omaha.
SERIES HISTORY: The three-game series against South Dakota State will mark meetings 183-185 in the all-time series that dates all the way back to 1956. The Jackrabbits lead the series, 116-66. SDSU swept a doubleheader against NDSU earlier this season in Sioux Falls, S.D., winning game one, 5-4, and game two, 12-9.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State enters Thursday with an overall record of 22-22 and sits in fourth-place in The Summit League at 12-13 after sweeping a three-game series against Fort Wayne May 11-13 ... Through 44 games, NDSU is led at the plate by sophomore outfielder Carter Thompson (.342 avg., 13 R, 25 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 7 BB, 1 SB) and senior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.302 avg., 17 R, 51 H, 9 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 31 RBI, 16 BB, 1 SB) ... On the mound, the Bison are paced by sophomore RHP Riley Johnson (4.40 ERA, 5-6, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 77.2 IP, 75 H, 46 R, 38 ER, 34 BB, 59 SO) and senior closer Kevin Folman (2.45 ERA, 4-3, 6 SV, 40.1 IP, 34 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 7 BB, 45 SO) ... As a team, NDSU ranks fourth in The Summit League in hitting (.252 avg.), third in pitching (4.46 ERA) and first in fielding (.974 fielding percentage).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The South Dakota State Jackrabbits come into Thursday with an overall record of 16-27 and are in second-place in The Summit League at 14-10 after dropping two of three contests to Western Illinois May 12-13 ... Through 43 games, SDSU is paced offensively by senior infielder/outfielder Anthony Schneider (.310 avg., 30 R, 39 H, 9 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 33 RBI, 24 BB, 9 SB) and junior infielder/outfielder Nick Smith (.303 avg., 21 R, 33 H, 6 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 14 BB, 5 SB) ... Senior infielder Tony Kjolsing ranks second in The Summit League with 18 stolen bases, while senior infielder Newt Johnson is tied for second with seven home runs and ranks third in RBI with 37 ... On the mound, the Jacks are led by sophomore RHP Tyler Olmstead (3.80 ERA, 2-3, 47.1 IP, 44 H, 22 R, 20 ER, 20 BB, 53 SO) and sophomore LHP Brady Stover (3.49 ERA, 3-1, 38.2 IP, 24 H, 15 R, 15 ER, 25 BB, 58 SO) ... South Dakota State ranks second in the league in hitting (.262 avg.), fifth in pitching (5.76 ERA) and second in fielding (.970 fielding percentage) ... The Jackrabbits are under the direction of second season head coach Rob Bishop.
THOMPSON, HOSTETLER, BUSCH FINDING THEIR SWINGS AT HOME IN LEAGUE PLAY: Carter Thompson, Bennett Hostetler and Logan Busch are each heating up at the plate in their last nine home Summit League games. Thompson is hitting .344 with seven runs, 11 hits, two doubles, one triple, three homers and nine RBI, while Hostetler is hitting .351 with nine runs, 13 hits, two doubles, two triples, one homer and six RBI. Busch is hitting .333 with five runs, nine hits, three doubles, two triples and six RBI.
SUMMIT LEAGUE WEEKLY HONORS: Player of the Week: OF Carter Thompson (April 30), 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 tied for second in career saves at North Dakota State with 15. He is just three saves away from tying Neil Wagner for most career saves (18 from 2003-05). Folman has a team-high six saves so far this season.
PIERZCHALSKI AT THE TOP OF NDSU CAREER RECORDS: Mason Pierzchalski is the NDSU career leader in sacrifice flies with 12, putouts with 999 and chances with 1,142.
FEARING ASCENDING NDSU CAREER RECORD CHARTS: Drew Fearing is the all-time leader in walks at NDSU with 89 and continues to climb the career record charts in other categories entering Friday. The Osakis, Minn., native is second in fielding assists (483), fourth in stolen bases (42), sixth in games started (183), tied for seventh in games played (187) and eighth in fielding chances (833).
BISON SWINGING FOR THE FENCES AT RECORD PACE: Through 12 home games at Newman Outdoor Field this season, NDSU has clubbed 10 homers, surpassing last season's total of five in 19 games. Carter Thompson has gone yard a team-high three times at home this season, while Jayse McLean and Matt Elsenpeter have each blasted two homers at Newman Outdoor Field. Nick Emanuel, Tucker Rohde and Bennett Hostetler have each swung for the fences one time at home in 2018.
NOTABLE HITTING AND ON-BASE STREAKS: Hitting: Carter Thompson is on a team-high 10-game hitting streak ... Matt Elsenpeter and Tucker Rohde are each riding a five-game hitting streak ... On-base: Thompson and Mason Pierzchalski have reached base safely in their last 10 games, while Logan Busch has gotten on base in his last eight contests.
TURNING TWO: The Bison lead The Summit League and rank 80th in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 44 games this season with 41. NDSU is 30th in double plays per game with 0.93 turned per game. North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017.
GETTING ON BASE ... THE PAINFUL WAY: NDSU is second in The Summit League with 38 hit batters through 44 games. Individually, Bennett Hostetler is fifth in the league with nine HBP, while Matt Elsenpeter is tied for 10th with five HBP.
TRIPLE LEADERS: Through 44 games, NDSU leads The Summit League with 18 triples. Bennett Hostetler and Jayse McLean have hit a team and league-best four triples.
DEFENDING AT A HIGH LEVEL: Through 25 Summit League games, the Bison have only committed 24 errors for an impressive .974 fielding percentage. On the season, NDSU leads The Summit League and ranks 62nd nationally with a .974 fielding percentage in 44 games.
MCLEAN VOTED TO GOOGLE CLOUD ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT® 6 BASEBALL TEAM: Jayse McLean was voted to the Google Cloud Academic All-District ® 6 Division I Baseball Team announced Thursday, May 10, and selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America. This is McLean's inaugural selection to the team and the first NDSU honoree since Tim Colwell in 2014. McLean boasts a perfect 4.00 grade-point average majoring in mechanical engineering. He is now eligible for the Academic All-America® Team ballot, which will be released in June.
NINE CONSECUTIVE 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark nine 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.
THE COACH: Tod Brown is in his 11th season as the head coach for the Bison and has a 269-295 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, May 17 | 6:30 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Game 2: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State
Friday, May 18 | 6:30 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Senior Day
Game 3: North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State
Saturday, May 19 | 1 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
NDSU Game Notes | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: The North Dakota State University baseball team (22-22, 12-13 Summit League) is scheduled to host the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits (16-27, 14-10 Summit League) in the final series of the regular season May 17-19 at Newman Outdoor Field. The series opener is slated for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17, with game two scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Friday, May 18. The regular season finale and Senior Day is slated for Saturday, May 19, at 1 p.m.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Bison 1660 AM and 92.7 FM are scheduled to air all three games in the series this weekend with Jeff Culhane calling the action. Live video, live audio and live stats will be available for every game.
SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT BERTH ON THE LINE: NDSU needs to win one of the three games against the Jackrabbits to clinch a spot in The Summit League Baseball Championship. The Bison could also clinch a berth in the tournament with an Omaha loss to Western Illinois. North Dakota State could secure the two seed by sweeping the Jacks, or claim the three seed with two or three wins vs. SDSU, coupled with two or three losses by Western Illinois at Omaha.
SERIES HISTORY: The three-game series against South Dakota State will mark meetings 183-185 in the all-time series that dates all the way back to 1956. The Jackrabbits lead the series, 116-66. SDSU swept a doubleheader against NDSU earlier this season in Sioux Falls, S.D., winning game one, 5-4, and game two, 12-9.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State enters Thursday with an overall record of 22-22 and sits in fourth-place in The Summit League at 12-13 after sweeping a three-game series against Fort Wayne May 11-13 ... Through 44 games, NDSU is led at the plate by sophomore outfielder Carter Thompson (.342 avg., 13 R, 25 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 7 BB, 1 SB) and senior infielder Mason Pierzchalski (.302 avg., 17 R, 51 H, 9 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 31 RBI, 16 BB, 1 SB) ... On the mound, the Bison are paced by sophomore RHP Riley Johnson (4.40 ERA, 5-6, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 77.2 IP, 75 H, 46 R, 38 ER, 34 BB, 59 SO) and senior closer Kevin Folman (2.45 ERA, 4-3, 6 SV, 40.1 IP, 34 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 7 BB, 45 SO) ... As a team, NDSU ranks fourth in The Summit League in hitting (.252 avg.), third in pitching (4.46 ERA) and first in fielding (.974 fielding percentage).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The South Dakota State Jackrabbits come into Thursday with an overall record of 16-27 and are in second-place in The Summit League at 14-10 after dropping two of three contests to Western Illinois May 12-13 ... Through 43 games, SDSU is paced offensively by senior infielder/outfielder Anthony Schneider (.310 avg., 30 R, 39 H, 9 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 33 RBI, 24 BB, 9 SB) and junior infielder/outfielder Nick Smith (.303 avg., 21 R, 33 H, 6 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 14 BB, 5 SB) ... Senior infielder Tony Kjolsing ranks second in The Summit League with 18 stolen bases, while senior infielder Newt Johnson is tied for second with seven home runs and ranks third in RBI with 37 ... On the mound, the Jacks are led by sophomore RHP Tyler Olmstead (3.80 ERA, 2-3, 47.1 IP, 44 H, 22 R, 20 ER, 20 BB, 53 SO) and sophomore LHP Brady Stover (3.49 ERA, 3-1, 38.2 IP, 24 H, 15 R, 15 ER, 25 BB, 58 SO) ... South Dakota State ranks second in the league in hitting (.262 avg.), fifth in pitching (5.76 ERA) and second in fielding (.970 fielding percentage) ... The Jackrabbits are under the direction of second season head coach Rob Bishop.
THOMPSON, HOSTETLER, BUSCH FINDING THEIR SWINGS AT HOME IN LEAGUE PLAY: Carter Thompson, Bennett Hostetler and Logan Busch are each heating up at the plate in their last nine home Summit League games. Thompson is hitting .344 with seven runs, 11 hits, two doubles, one triple, three homers and nine RBI, while Hostetler is hitting .351 with nine runs, 13 hits, two doubles, two triples, one homer and six RBI. Busch is hitting .333 with five runs, nine hits, three doubles, two triples and six RBI.
SUMMIT LEAGUE WEEKLY HONORS: Player of the Week: OF Carter Thompson (April 30), 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 tied for second in career saves at North Dakota State with 15. He is just three saves away from tying Neil Wagner for most career saves (18 from 2003-05). Folman has a team-high six saves so far this season.
PIERZCHALSKI AT THE TOP OF NDSU CAREER RECORDS: Mason Pierzchalski is the NDSU career leader in sacrifice flies with 12, putouts with 999 and chances with 1,142.
FEARING ASCENDING NDSU CAREER RECORD CHARTS: Drew Fearing is the all-time leader in walks at NDSU with 89 and continues to climb the career record charts in other categories entering Friday. The Osakis, Minn., native is second in fielding assists (483), fourth in stolen bases (42), sixth in games started (183), tied for seventh in games played (187) and eighth in fielding chances (833).
BISON SWINGING FOR THE FENCES AT RECORD PACE: Through 12 home games at Newman Outdoor Field this season, NDSU has clubbed 10 homers, surpassing last season's total of five in 19 games. Carter Thompson has gone yard a team-high three times at home this season, while Jayse McLean and Matt Elsenpeter have each blasted two homers at Newman Outdoor Field. Nick Emanuel, Tucker Rohde and Bennett Hostetler have each swung for the fences one time at home in 2018.
NOTABLE HITTING AND ON-BASE STREAKS: Hitting: Carter Thompson is on a team-high 10-game hitting streak ... Matt Elsenpeter and Tucker Rohde are each riding a five-game hitting streak ... On-base: Thompson and Mason Pierzchalski have reached base safely in their last 10 games, while Logan Busch has gotten on base in his last eight contests.
TURNING TWO: The Bison lead The Summit League and rank 80th in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 44 games this season with 41. NDSU is 30th in double plays per game with 0.93 turned per game. North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017.
GETTING ON BASE ... THE PAINFUL WAY: NDSU is second in The Summit League with 38 hit batters through 44 games. Individually, Bennett Hostetler is fifth in the league with nine HBP, while Matt Elsenpeter is tied for 10th with five HBP.
TRIPLE LEADERS: Through 44 games, NDSU leads The Summit League with 18 triples. Bennett Hostetler and Jayse McLean have hit a team and league-best four triples.
DEFENDING AT A HIGH LEVEL: Through 25 Summit League games, the Bison have only committed 24 errors for an impressive .974 fielding percentage. On the season, NDSU leads The Summit League and ranks 62nd nationally with a .974 fielding percentage in 44 games.
MCLEAN VOTED TO GOOGLE CLOUD ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT® 6 BASEBALL TEAM: Jayse McLean was voted to the Google Cloud Academic All-District ® 6 Division I Baseball Team announced Thursday, May 10, and selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America. This is McLean's inaugural selection to the team and the first NDSU honoree since Tim Colwell in 2014. McLean boasts a perfect 4.00 grade-point average majoring in mechanical engineering. He is now eligible for the Academic All-America® Team ballot, which will be released in June.
NINE CONSECUTIVE 20-WIN SEASONS: North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark nine 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.
THE COACH: Tod Brown is in his 11th season as the head coach for the Bison and has a 269-295 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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