Wednesday, May 23
Tulsa, Okla.
12 p.m.
North Dakota State
vs
Western Illinois
Photo by: Carrie Snyder
North Dakota State Faces Western Illinois in Summit League Tournament Opener May 23
5/21/2018 5:24:00 PM | Baseball
Summit League Baseball Championship Game 1
(3) North Dakota State vs. (2) Western Illinois
Wednesday, May 23 | Noon | Tulsa, Okla. (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Audio | Live Video
NDSU Game Notes | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: Number three seed North Dakota State (25-22) is scheduled to open the 2018 Summit League Baseball Championship against number two seed Western Illinois (17-29) at noon Wednesday, May 23, at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. Wednesday's second game, which is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch, will feature number four seed South Dakota State (16-30) and number one seed and tournament host Oral Roberts (35-18).
MEDIA COVERAGE: Bison 1660 AM and 92.7 FM will air all NDSU baseball games in The Summit League tournament with Jeff Culhane calling the action. Live stats, live audio and live video will also be available for every game free of charge. For links, please visit www.GoBison.com.
NDSU IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: The Bison have an all-time record of 10-10 in Summit League tournament action dating back to their first appearance during the 2011 season. This is the seventh tournament appearance in eight seasons for North Dakota State. Last season, NDSU advanced to The Summit League Championship game before falling to tournament champion Oral Roberts, 7-0. The Bison earned their inaugural Summit League tournament title in 2014.
SERIES HISTORY: Western Illinois: Wednesday's game vs. Western Illinois will mark the 66th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 2005. WIU leads the series, 35-30. The Bison are 2-4 against the Leathernecks this season, dropping two of three games in Macomb, Ill., and two of three contests in Omaha, Neb. ... Oral Roberts: This would be the meeting 48 in the all-time series that dates back to 2008. ORU leads the series, 35-12. The Golden Eagles went 6-0 against the Bison this season, sweeping series in Tulsa, Okla., and Fargo ... South Dakota State: This would be the 186th meeting in the all-time series that dates all the way back to 1956. SDSU leads the series, 116-69. The Bison went 3-2 against the Jacks this season, dropping a doubleheader in Sioux Falls, S.D., before sweeping a three-game series in Fargo.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State comes into tournament action with an overall record of 25-22 and finished third in The Summit League with a league mark of 15-13 ... NDSU is on a season-best seven-game winning streak entering the tournament ... Through 47 games, the Bison are led at the plate by sophomore outfielder Carter Thompson (.345 avg., 19 R, 29 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 8 BB, 2 SB), senior infielders Mason Pierzchalski (.291 avg., 17 R, 53 H, 10 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 34 RBI, 17 BB) and Matt Elsenpeter (.289 avg., 27 R, 46 H, 8 2B, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 8 BB, 4 SB), senior outfielder Logan Busch (.262 avg., 21 R, 38 H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 29 BB), and redshirt junior outfielder Jayse McLean (.261 avg., 38 R, 43 H, 6 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 31 RBI, 29 BB, 7 SB) ... On the mound, NDSU is paced by sophomore left-handed reliever Parker Harm (3.75 ERA, 2-2, 1 SV, 48.0 IP, 37 H, 20 R, 20 ER, 25 BB, 52 SO), senior left-handed starter Blake Stockert (4.27 ERA, 4-3, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 59.0 IP, 67 H, 33 R, 28 ER, 24 BB, 58 SO) and senior closer Kevin Folman (2.95 ERA, 4-3, 6 SV, 42.2 IP, 39 H, 18 R, 14 ER, 9 BB, 47 SO) ... As a team, North Dakota State has a .255 batting average, 4.53 ERA and .972 fielding percentage ... The Bison rank fourth in the league in team batting average, second in team ERA and first in team fielding percentage.
NDSU OFFENSE FINDING ITS STRIDE: NDSU is hitting .324 as a team during its seven-game winning streak. Drew Fearing is hitting a blistering .407 in his last seven contests with 11 hits and four RBI, while Matt Elsenpeter is hitting .379 with 11 hits, two doubles, one homer and eight RBI. Carter Thompson, who is on a team-high 13 game hitting streak, has nine hits, three doubles, one triple, six RBI and four walks, and is hitting .375 in his last seven games. Tucker Rohde is hitting .346 with nine hits, five RBI and four walks, while Logan Busch is hitting .318 with seven hits, two doubles, seven RBI and four walks.
DREW, HARM, STOCKERT, SMITH SHINE ON MOUND VS. SDSU: Two freshmen, a sophomore and a senior were key cogs in NDSU's three-game sweep of South Dakota State to earn the three seed in the league tournament. Freshmen Jake Drew and Zach Smith, sophomore Parker Harm, and senior Blake Stockert did not yield an earned run during the series. Drew pitched a scoreless top of the 10th inning and worked out of a one-out bases loaded jam with two strikeouts in the Bison's 15-14 walk-off win in game one of a doubleheader May 18, before Stockert and Harm teamed up in NDSU's 7-1 victory in game two. Stockert threw four innings and gave up just one unearned run on three hits with three strikeouts, prior to Harm entering the contest and firing five scoreless innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts and just two hits. Smith tossed 2 2/3 hitless innings in North Dakota State's 6-5 walk-off win in the series finale May 19. He struck out four while walking only one batter.
EMANUEL GETTING IN A GROOVE: Nick Emanuel is hitting .308 in his last five games. He has four hits, one double, one homer, five RBI and three walks during that span. His slugging percentage in his last five contests is .615.
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 1,016 and chances with 1,161. He ranks ninth in career hits with 189.
FEARING ASCENDING NDSU CAREER RECORD CHARTS: Drew Fearing is the all-time leader in walks at NDSU with 90 and continues to climb the career record charts in other categories entering Wednesday. The Osakis, Minn., native is second in fielding assists (490), fourth in stolen bases (42), sixth in hits (196) and games started (186), seventh in games played (190) and eighth in fielding chances (847).
NOTABLE HITTING AND ON-BASE STREAKS: Hitting: Carter Thompson is on a team-high 13-game hitting streak ... Matt Elsenpeter and Tucker Rohde are each riding an eight-game hitting streak ... On-base: Thompson has reached base in his last 13 contests, while Jayse McLean, Tucker Rohde and Matt Elsenpeter have gotten on-base successfully in their last eight contests.
TURNING TWO: The Bison lead The Summit League and rank 54th in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 47 games this season with 45. NDSU is 26th in double plays per game with 0.96 turned per game. North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017.
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: NDSU leads The Summit League with a .972 fielding percentage in 47 games.
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)
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 seven 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 272-295 (.480) 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:
(3) North Dakota State vs. (2) Western Illinois
Wednesday, May 23 | Noon | Tulsa, Okla. (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
Radio: Bison 1660 AM & 92.7 FM (Jeff Culhane, pxp)
Live Audio | Live Video
NDSU Game Notes | NDSU Baseball on Twitter
SCENE SETTER: Number three seed North Dakota State (25-22) is scheduled to open the 2018 Summit League Baseball Championship against number two seed Western Illinois (17-29) at noon Wednesday, May 23, at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. Wednesday's second game, which is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch, will feature number four seed South Dakota State (16-30) and number one seed and tournament host Oral Roberts (35-18).
MEDIA COVERAGE: Bison 1660 AM and 92.7 FM will air all NDSU baseball games in The Summit League tournament with Jeff Culhane calling the action. Live stats, live audio and live video will also be available for every game free of charge. For links, please visit www.GoBison.com.
NDSU IN THE SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: The Bison have an all-time record of 10-10 in Summit League tournament action dating back to their first appearance during the 2011 season. This is the seventh tournament appearance in eight seasons for North Dakota State. Last season, NDSU advanced to The Summit League Championship game before falling to tournament champion Oral Roberts, 7-0. The Bison earned their inaugural Summit League tournament title in 2014.
SERIES HISTORY: Western Illinois: Wednesday's game vs. Western Illinois will mark the 66th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 2005. WIU leads the series, 35-30. The Bison are 2-4 against the Leathernecks this season, dropping two of three games in Macomb, Ill., and two of three contests in Omaha, Neb. ... Oral Roberts: This would be the meeting 48 in the all-time series that dates back to 2008. ORU leads the series, 35-12. The Golden Eagles went 6-0 against the Bison this season, sweeping series in Tulsa, Okla., and Fargo ... South Dakota State: This would be the 186th meeting in the all-time series that dates all the way back to 1956. SDSU leads the series, 116-69. The Bison went 3-2 against the Jacks this season, dropping a doubleheader in Sioux Falls, S.D., before sweeping a three-game series in Fargo.
BISON NOTES: North Dakota State comes into tournament action with an overall record of 25-22 and finished third in The Summit League with a league mark of 15-13 ... NDSU is on a season-best seven-game winning streak entering the tournament ... Through 47 games, the Bison are led at the plate by sophomore outfielder Carter Thompson (.345 avg., 19 R, 29 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 8 BB, 2 SB), senior infielders Mason Pierzchalski (.291 avg., 17 R, 53 H, 10 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 34 RBI, 17 BB) and Matt Elsenpeter (.289 avg., 27 R, 46 H, 8 2B, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 8 BB, 4 SB), senior outfielder Logan Busch (.262 avg., 21 R, 38 H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 29 BB), and redshirt junior outfielder Jayse McLean (.261 avg., 38 R, 43 H, 6 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 31 RBI, 29 BB, 7 SB) ... On the mound, NDSU is paced by sophomore left-handed reliever Parker Harm (3.75 ERA, 2-2, 1 SV, 48.0 IP, 37 H, 20 R, 20 ER, 25 BB, 52 SO), senior left-handed starter Blake Stockert (4.27 ERA, 4-3, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 59.0 IP, 67 H, 33 R, 28 ER, 24 BB, 58 SO) and senior closer Kevin Folman (2.95 ERA, 4-3, 6 SV, 42.2 IP, 39 H, 18 R, 14 ER, 9 BB, 47 SO) ... As a team, North Dakota State has a .255 batting average, 4.53 ERA and .972 fielding percentage ... The Bison rank fourth in the league in team batting average, second in team ERA and first in team fielding percentage.
NDSU OFFENSE FINDING ITS STRIDE: NDSU is hitting .324 as a team during its seven-game winning streak. Drew Fearing is hitting a blistering .407 in his last seven contests with 11 hits and four RBI, while Matt Elsenpeter is hitting .379 with 11 hits, two doubles, one homer and eight RBI. Carter Thompson, who is on a team-high 13 game hitting streak, has nine hits, three doubles, one triple, six RBI and four walks, and is hitting .375 in his last seven games. Tucker Rohde is hitting .346 with nine hits, five RBI and four walks, while Logan Busch is hitting .318 with seven hits, two doubles, seven RBI and four walks.
DREW, HARM, STOCKERT, SMITH SHINE ON MOUND VS. SDSU: Two freshmen, a sophomore and a senior were key cogs in NDSU's three-game sweep of South Dakota State to earn the three seed in the league tournament. Freshmen Jake Drew and Zach Smith, sophomore Parker Harm, and senior Blake Stockert did not yield an earned run during the series. Drew pitched a scoreless top of the 10th inning and worked out of a one-out bases loaded jam with two strikeouts in the Bison's 15-14 walk-off win in game one of a doubleheader May 18, before Stockert and Harm teamed up in NDSU's 7-1 victory in game two. Stockert threw four innings and gave up just one unearned run on three hits with three strikeouts, prior to Harm entering the contest and firing five scoreless innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts and just two hits. Smith tossed 2 2/3 hitless innings in North Dakota State's 6-5 walk-off win in the series finale May 19. He struck out four while walking only one batter.
EMANUEL GETTING IN A GROOVE: Nick Emanuel is hitting .308 in his last five games. He has four hits, one double, one homer, five RBI and three walks during that span. His slugging percentage in his last five contests is .615.
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 1,016 and chances with 1,161. He ranks ninth in career hits with 189.
FEARING ASCENDING NDSU CAREER RECORD CHARTS: Drew Fearing is the all-time leader in walks at NDSU with 90 and continues to climb the career record charts in other categories entering Wednesday. The Osakis, Minn., native is second in fielding assists (490), fourth in stolen bases (42), sixth in hits (196) and games started (186), seventh in games played (190) and eighth in fielding chances (847).
NOTABLE HITTING AND ON-BASE STREAKS: Hitting: Carter Thompson is on a team-high 13-game hitting streak ... Matt Elsenpeter and Tucker Rohde are each riding an eight-game hitting streak ... On-base: Thompson has reached base in his last 13 contests, while Jayse McLean, Tucker Rohde and Matt Elsenpeter have gotten on-base successfully in their last eight contests.
TURNING TWO: The Bison lead The Summit League and rank 54th in NCAA Division I baseball in double plays turned through 47 games this season with 45. NDSU is 26th in double plays per game with 0.96 turned per game. North Dakota State set a new single-season record with 53 double plays in 2017.
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: NDSU leads The Summit League with a .972 fielding percentage in 47 games.
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)
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 seven 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 272-295 (.480) 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 85-72 (.541) over the last three seasons (2016, 2017, 2018)
- 82-37 (.689) record at home since 2012
- .530 winning percentage over the last seven seasons
- Four Summit League championship game appearances in the past six seasons
- Seven Summit League tournament appearances in the last eight 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
OF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
P/U
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballVanderbilt vs. NDSU Baseball Highlights - March 8, 2026
Wednesday, March 11
NDSU Baseball Postgame Press Conference (NCAA Regional vs Creighton) - June 1, 2025
Sunday, June 01
NDSU Baseball Postgame Press Conference (NCAA Regional vs Kansas) - May 31, 2025
Sunday, June 01
NDSU Baseball Postgame Press Conference - NCAA Regional vs No. 3 Arkansas - May 30, 2025
Friday, May 30
