Scene Setter:
The North Dakota State (5-7, 0-0 Summit) baseball team will play indoors for the first time this season on Tuesday, as the Bison travel to Minneapolis to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-6, 0-0 Big Ten). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium.  

Media Coverage:
Live stats for the game will be available at BisonStats.com. The game will be broadcast on BTN+, as well as BTNPlus.com. Jeff Culhane and Keith Brake will have the call on Bison 1660.

Series History:
Minnesota leads the all-time series 30-10 that dates back to a 5-0 Golden Gophers victory in Minnesota on April 10, 1964. The Golden Gophers have won the last four meetings. This will be the third game at U.S. Bank Stadium between the two, as Minnesota won 3-1 in 2018 and the Bison taking a 3-1 game on Feb. 28, 2017. 

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 Golden Gophers: 
The Golden Gophers are 5-6 on the year after dropping two of three games at the Cambria College Classic this past weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium. After splitting four games in Arizona to start the season, Tuesday night will be the eighth of 14-straight games played at U.S. Bank Stadium for Minnesota. This will be the second of three early games against Summit League schools, as the Golden Gophers beat South Dakota State 4-2 on Feb. 26. The Golden Gophers will face the Jackrabbits again on Wednesday. Minnesota ranks 11th in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings with 12.0. Max Meyer ranks 11th in the country with 31 strikeouts, while ranking 48th with 14.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Easton Bertrand ranks 22nd in the country with four home runs on the year.

Opening Day Streak:
With a 3-1 victory at Hawaii to open the season, North Dakota State has now won five-straight season openers. Last year, the Bison beat Sacramento State 9-1. NDSU beat Incarnate Word 8-2 in 2018, Mississippi Valley State 10-4 in 2017 and Arkansas-Pine Bluff 2-0 in 2016.

Double Vision:
NDSU has turned nine double plays on the season, ranking 40th in the nation. NDSU also ranks 79th with .75 double plays per game. The Bison rank second in the Summit League in both categories.

Leave The Guy Alone:
Senior Bennett Hostetler ranks 17th in the nation in hit by pitch, having been hit six times in the first 12 games. He also ranks 33rd with .50 hit by pitches per game. 

Loven Is Dealin':
Max Loven ranks 68th in the country in walks allowed per nine innings at 1.00, while also ranking 93rd in strikeout-to-walk radio at 7.5. He leads the Summit League in both categories.

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:
Peter Brookshaw ranks eighth in the nation with three sacrifice flies on the season. Tyler Silva has a pair of sacrifice bunts, ranking 65th in the country. Bennett Hostetler has 11 career sacrifice flies, tied for the second most in school history and the 20th most among active NCAA Division I players.

Walk This Way:
Last season, Brock Anderson set a school record with 39 base on balls. In 12 games this season, Anderson has 10 walks and ranks 71st in the nation.

How Low Can You Go?
Max Loven ranks 26th among active NCAA Division I players with a 2.62 career ERA. He also ranks ninth in NCAA Division I allowing 1.43 walks per nine innings and 27th in all NCAA divisions among active players. 

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 fourth in Summit League history with 296 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.

Up Next:
The Bison will play in their fifth different state of the season this weekend, as NDSU travels to Northern Colorado. The four-game series starts with a single game at 3 p.m. (central) on Friday and features a doubleheader at 1 p.m. (central) on Sunday. The series concludes with a Sunday game at 1 p.m. (central).