Bison Baseball to Face Billikens in Four Game Series

Friday, February 26

Saint Louis, Mo.

3 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Saint Louis

Photo by: Steve Roberts/WKU Athletics

Bison Baseball to Face Billikens in Four Game Series

2/24/2021 5:13:00 PM | Baseball

NDSU Notes - Saint Louis Live Streams

Scene Setter
The North Dakota State baseball team returns to action this weekend, with a four-game series scheduled against Saint Louis in St. Louis, Mo. The two teams will play the series opener at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday with a scheduled 1 p.m. start. The series finale is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Sunday.

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

Series History
Saint Louis leads the all-time series 1-0, picking up a 4-3 victory in Port Charlotte, Fla. on Feb. 28, 2020. The game was a late addition to the Bison schedule, as the original opponent for NDSU, St. Bonaventure, was unable to get to Florida on time due to snow in the northeast.

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 2.51 ERA, while striking out 16 and walking just two.

Scouting the Billikens
Saint Louis is 1-3 on the year after a four-game series at Kennesaw State last weekend. The Billikens won the opener 8-7 before dropping the next three games. Cam Redding leads three players hitting over .300 after the opening weekend with a .333 average. Redding has four hits, while driving in a team-high four runs. Jake Garella is hitting .313 with a team-high five hits. The Billikens used 11 pitchers in the first four games. Saturday's game one starter, Mark Finkelnburg, tossed six innings in his first appearance, striking out five and walking five, while allowing two unearned runs. Sunday's starter, Scott Youngbrandt, threw five innings in his first appearance, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits. Grant Fremion made two appearances out of the bullpen.

Brown Joins 300 Club
North Dakota State Head Coach Tod Brown earned his 300th career win on Sunday during the first game of the doubleheader at Western Kentucky. Brown is the third coach in Summit League history to earn 300 career wins. Brown joins Mitch McLeod as the only Bison coaches with over 300 wins, as McLeod has a school record 347.

Opening Day Streak Snapped
With Sunday's 10-4 loss in the season opener, the Bison had a streak of five-straight wins in season openers snapped. Last season, the Bison beat Hawaii 3-1 to start the 2020 campaign. 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.

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.

Double Vision:
The Bison have turned three double plays in three games this season, ranking 27th in the country in double plays. The 1.00 double plays per game ranks 23rd in the nation.

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 has already been hit once this season and ranks 20th among active NCAA Division I players with 31 career hit by pitches.

Making the Sacrifice:
Peter Brookshaw ranked second in the nation with five sacrifice flies last season. Bennett Hostetler has 12 career sacrifice flies, tied for the most in school history and the eighth 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. Anderson currently ranks 24th among active NCAA Division I players in on-base percentage at .447.

Harm Not Allowing Hits
Senior Parker Harm has allowed just 6.47 hits per nine innings over the course of his career. That ranks 18th overall among active players at all NCAA levels and the 14th best among NCAA Division I players.

Hits For Days
The Bison tallied 33 hits in the opening weekend, as NDSU ranks 34th in the nation in the category and tops in the Summit League. NDSU also ranks 23rd in triples and 27th in triples per game.

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 301 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.

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.

Up Next
The Bison will head to Northern Colorado for a four-game series with the Bears next weekend. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 1 p.m. (Central) on Friday, March 5. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 6 at 1 p.m. (Central), with the series finale scheduled for 1 p.m. (Central) on Sunday, March 7.