Bison Baseball Opens 2020 Campaign in Hawaii

Friday, February 14

Honolulu, Hawaii

10:30 p.m.

North Dakota State

Hawaii

Photo by: Carrie Snyder

Bison Baseball Opens 2020 Campaign in Hawaii

2/13/2020 4:29:00 PM | Baseball

NDSU Baseball Notes - Hawaii

Scene Setter:
The North Dakota State (0-0, 0-0 Summit) baseball team opens the 2020 campaign on Friday, Feb. 14, against Hawaii (2-0, 0-0 Big West). Friday's game is the first of a four-game set against the Rainbow Warriors. First pitch is set for 10:35 p.m. central time at Les Murakami Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday will start at 5:05 p.m. central time.

Media Coverage:
Live stats for the games will be available at BisonStats.com. A live video feed will be available at BigWest.com for the first game of the series, while all games will be available via live audio provided by Hawaii. A link to all audio can be found at GoBison.com.

Series History:
Friday will be the first meeting between the two schools.

Previewing 2020:
Experience will be the key for the North Dakota State baseball team heading into the 2020 season. The Bison return 18 letterwinners from last year, but more importantly return seven offensive starters and nine pitchers that tossed at least 10 innings. All-Summit League Second Team selection Charley Hesse led the Bison with a .299 batting average last year and returns at third base. Jack Simonsen led the Bison with 40 hits with his .280 batting average. Brock Anderson set a school record with 39 walks in 2019 and brings his .277 average back. Peter Brookshaw hit 12 doubles last year, while Bennett Hostetler returns at shortstop, where he hit six home runs last season. On the mound, the Bison return Summit League Newcomer of the Year Max Loven. An All-Summit League First Team selection, Loven was 4-2 with a 2.74 ERA last season, tallying 75 strikeouts and just 15 walks in 88.2 innings. The Bison also return Ben Smith and Zach Smith from the weekend rotation. After missing the 2019 season, Riley Johnson returns to the mound in 2020. Johnson went 5-6 with a 4.57 ERA in 86.2 innings with 66 strikeouts in 2018.

Scouting the Rainbow Warriors:
Hawaii got the season started last weekend, picking up a pair of late victories over Hawaii-Hilo. In the season opener, Dustin Demeter hit a two-run walk-off home run for a 5-4 Rainbow Warrior victory. Scotty Scott was named the 2019 Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year, while he was also named to the Collegiate Baseball News Freshmen All-American Team. The Rainbow Warriors finished seventh in the Big West last season and are picked for sixth this season.

Opening Day Streak:
North Dakota State has won four-straight season openers, including last year's 9-1 win over Sacramento State. NDSU beat Incarnate Word 8-2 in 2018, Mississippi Valley State 10-4 in 2017 and Arkansas-Pine Bluff 2-0 in 2016.

Loven Was Dealin':
Max Loven ranked 28th in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings at 1.52 last season, while also ranking 46th in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 5.0. He led the Summit League in both categories. Loven also ranked 56th in the nation in WHIP at 1.05 and 87th in ERA at 2.74. He also ranked 13th in the nation in complete games with three.

Road Warriors:
NDSU was the last NCAA Division I baseball team to play a home game last season. The Bison played 26-straight games away from Newman Outdoor Field to start the season in 2019. In 2020, the Bison are scheduled to play the first 27 games away from home, with the series against Omaha on April 3-5 set for the home opener.

Making the Sacrifice:
Bennett Hostetler ranked 82nd in the country with .16 sacrifice bunts per game last year, while also ranking 136th with seven sacrifice bunts on the season.

Walk This Way:
Last season, Brock Anderson set a school record with 39 base on balls. He ranked 27th in the nation with .91 walks per game, while also ranking 140th with 39 on the season.

How Low Can You Go?
As a team, the Bison rank 72nd in the nation with a 4.26 ERA last year. That mark is second in the league behind South Dakota State's 4.13.

Hesse Gets it Done on and off Diamond:
Charley Hesse picked up All-Summit League Second Team honors last year, while also being voted to the All-Summit League Academic Team. Hesse led the Bison with a .299 average on the year, scoring 20 runs on 32 hits in 107 at-bats. He had five doubles and a home run with a .374 slugging percentage and .420 on-base percentage. A marketing major, Hesse has a 3.59 cumulative GPA.

Loven Named to Collegiate Baseball's Freshmen All-American Team:
On top of being named the Summit League Newcomer of the Year, Max Loven was named to the Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American Team. In his rookie campaign, Loven was 4-2 with a 2.74 ERA. In 13 starts, he threw 88.2 innings with three complete games. Loven allowed 30 runs (27 earned) on 78 hits, while walking 15 and striking out 75. Loven ranked 28th in the nation with 1.52 walks allowed per nine innings, while ranking 45th with a 5-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also ranked 56th in WHIP at 1.05 and 87th in ERA. His three complete games ranked 13th in the nation. He led the Summit League in complete games, strikeout-to-walk ratio and walks allowed per nine innings. Loven was one of three freshman in the country to throw three or more complete games this season. He was one of two pitchers that allowed 1.52 or less walks per nine innings. Loven was the only freshman pitcher in the nation with an ERA below 2.94 with over 88.2 innings pitched.

Summit League Preseason Poll:
The North Dakota State baseball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Summit League preseason poll, as released by the league office on Thursday, Feb. 6. Oral Roberts was picked first in the poll with 23 points, earning three of a possible five first place votes. Defending champion Omaha was second with 19 points and one first place vote. South Dakota State earned two first place votes and edged NDSU for third with 18 points. The Bison tallied 16 points, followed by Western Illinois (nine points) and Purdue Fort Wayne (five points). Senior shortstop Bennett Hostetler and sophomore pitcher Max Loven were named to the Summit League Players to Watch list. Hostetler led the Bison with 35 runs, six home runs and a .413 slugging percentage last season. Loven was a 2019 All-Summit League First Team selection and the 2019 Summit League Newcomer of the Year. Loven went 4-2 with a 2.74 ERA, striking out 75 and allowing just 15 walks in 88.2 innings pitched.

Brown Making Moves in Summit League Record Books:
North Dakota State Head Coach Tod Brown moved up the charts of the Summit League record books last year and looks to do the same this season. Brown ranks third in Summit League history with 291 wins. Brown also joined Valparaiso's Paul Twenge as the only two coaches in Summit League history to have coached 300 or more league games. Last year, he became the third coach in Summit League history to coach in 600 or more games, joining Twenge and Dean Refakes.

Bison Earn ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award:
The North Dakota State University baseball team earned the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award for the second-straight season last year. NDSU and Oral Roberts were the only Summit League schools to earn the honor. The ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award honors high school and college programs coached by ABCA members that post a GPA over 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the current academic year. The Bison had a 3.3 GPA in the fall and 3.36 in the spring for a 3.33 cumulative for the 2018-19 school year.