NDSU Baseball Opens Season Sunday Night at Western Kentucky

Sunday, February 21

Bowling Green, Ky.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Western Kentucky

Photo by: Carrie Snyder

NDSU Baseball Opens Season Sunday Night at Western Kentucky

2/21/2021 12:04:00 PM | Baseball

NDSU Notes - Western Kentucky Live Streams

Scene Setter:
After the first two games of the series were postponed, the North Dakota State baseball team is set to open the 2021 campaign on Sunday, Feb. 21, at Western Kentucky. The two teams will still play the originally scheduled three games, with one on Sunday at 5 p.m. and a doubleheader on Monday, Feb. 22, starting at 12 p.m. All games will be played at Nick Denes Field in Bowling Green, Ky.

Media Coverage:
Live stats for the games will be available at WKUSports.com.

Series History:
Sunday's game will be the first game between the Hilltoppers and the Bison.

Previewing 2021:
Experience will be the key for the North Dakota State baseball team heading into the 2021 season. The Bison return nine starters and 10 pitchers from a shortened 2020 season, where the Bison finished with an 8-9 record. First baseman Brock Anderson led the Bison with a .333 batting average, including five doubles, a home run and 12 RBI. Tucker Rohde returns at third base, where he hit .297 with five doubles, a home run and 11 RBI. On the mound, the Bison return 2019 Summit League Newcomer of the Year Max Loven. A 2019 All-Summit League First Team selection, Loven was 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA in four starts last season. He struck out 19 in 23 innings pitched. Gabe Pilla returns out of the bullpen, where he had a pair of saves and a 1-1 record to go along with a .96 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 9.1 innings last year. In 14.1 innings last year, Zach Smith went 2-0 with .251 ERA, while striking out 16 and walking just two.

Scouting the Hilltoppers:
Western Kentucky went 10-6 in an abbreviated 2020 season, winning all four of its weekend series on the year. The Hilltoppers are set to return 28 players from last season's roster, including all nine starters from their 2020 squad. Western Kentucky will also welcome 17 newcomers into the fold, which includes nine transfers and eight freshmen. Offensively, the team will return five players who hit .300 or better last season in Matt Phipps (.368), Jack Wilson (.343), Davis Sims (.333), Jackson Swiney (.333) and Ray Zuberer III (.328). On the mound, the squad is also set to bring back its top two starters in Sean Bergeron (2-0, 2.59 ERA) and Michael Darrell-Hicks (2-1, 4.82 ERA), as well as its top closer in Jake Kates (2-0, 1 SV, 1.04 ERA).

Opening Day Streak:
With a 3-1 victory at Hawaii to open the 2020 season, North Dakota State has now won five-straight season openers. in 2019, 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 turned 16 double plays last season, ranking 16th in the nation. NDSU also ranks 25th with .94 double plays per game. The Bison lead the Summit League in double plays.

Leave The Guy Alone:
Senior Bennett Hostetler ranked fifth in the nation in hit by pitch last year, having been hit 11 times in 17 games. He also ranks seventh with .65 hit by pitches per game. Hostetler has been hit by pitch 30 times in his career, ranking 29th among active career players at the NCAA Division I level.

Road Warriors:
In 2019, NDSU was the last NCAA Division I baseball team to play a home game. The Bison played 26-straight games away from Newman Outdoor Field to start the season in 2019. In 2020, the Bison were scheduled to play the first 27 games away from home before the season was cut short due to Covid-19. This season, the Bison are slated to play 27-straight road games before opening the home schedule April 9 against Western Illinois.

Making the Sacrifice:
Peter Brookshaw ranked second in the nation with five sacrifice flies last season. Bennett Hostetler has 12 career sacrifice flies, the second most in school history and the 15th most among active NCAA Division I players.

Walk This Way:
In 2019, Brock Anderson set a school record with 39 base on balls. In 17 games last season, Anderson had 13 walks and ranked 95th in the nation.

How Low Can You Go?
Max Loven ranks 48th among active NCAA Division I players with a 2.82 career ERA. He also ranks 14th among active NCAA Division I players with 1.61 career walks per nine innings.

Harm Not Allowing Hits
Senior Parker Harm has allowed just 6.43 hits per nine innings over the course of his career. That ranks 44th overall among active players at all NCAA levels and the 27th best among NCAA Division I players.

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 third in the Summit League preseason poll. Omaha was picked first in the poll with 15 points, holding a one point edge over Oral Roberts. The Mavericks received three first place votes, while the Golden Eagles earned the remaining two. NDSU was third in the poll with 10 points, while South Dakota State (seven points) and Western Illinois (four points) rounded out the poll. North Dakota State finished the 2020 season with an 8-9 record that was shortened due to Covid-19. Omaha won the 2019 Summit League regular season and tournament titles. Senior shortstop Bennett Hostetler and senior pitcher Parker Harm were named to the Summit League Players to Watch list. Hostetler started all 17 games last year at shortstop. He finished with a .216 average and led the team with two home runs. Harm made five appearances out of the bullpen, finishing with a 1-0 record and a 3.00 ERA in nine innings of work. He struck out 11, while walking just four.

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 299 wins. Brown is one of three 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 Valparaiso's Paul Twenge and Illinois-Chicago's 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 third-straight season last year. NDSU was the only Summit League school 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 3.522 cumulative GPA for the 2019-20 school year, including a record 3.61 GPA in the spring semester.

Up Next:
The Bison will head to Saint Louis for a four-game series with the Billikens next weekend. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m., with the series finale scheduled for 12 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 28.