Scene Setter
The North Dakota State baseball team returns to action this weekend, with a four-game series scheduled against Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. The two teams will play the series opener at 2 p.m. (Central) on Friday, March 12, followed by single games on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday. The games on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday are all scheduled for a 12 p.m. (central) start time.
 
Media Coverage
Live stats for all four games will be available at BisonStats.com.
 
Series History
Friday's game will be the first against the Flyers in school history.
 
Scouting the Flyers
Dayton is 3-7 on the year after winning the first and last games of a four-game series with Oakland last weekend. The Flyers went 0-3 against South Carolina and 1-2 against Campbell to open the season. Eddie Pursinger leads the Flyers with a .350 batting average and a 1.158 OPS. He also has a team-high two home runs and a .700 slugging percentage. Mariano Ricciardi and Marcos Pujols lead the Flyers with nine hits apiece. In three starts on the mound, Hunter Wolfe has tossed a team-best 14.2 innings, while tallying a 1-2 record with a 7.36 ERA. Ben Olson has three starts in 10.2 innings, with a 6.75 ERA and 0-2 record. Tyler Jones has a team-leading six appearances, sitting with a 1-0 record and 6.00 ERA in six innings.
 
Brown Joins 300 Club
North Dakota State Head Coach Tod Brown earned his 300th career win on Feb. 22 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 a 10-4 loss in the season opener at Western Kentucky, 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 26-straight road games before opening the home schedule April 9 against Western Illinois. It is currently the latest scheduled home opener for an NCAA Division I baseball team this season.
 
Get on and Steal it
Senior Bennett Hostetler ranks 47th in the nation with a .574 on-base percentage. He also ranks 41st in stolen bases with five and 67th in the country with .50 stolen bases per game.
 
Turnin' Two
The Bison have turned nine double plays in six games this season, ranking 31st in the country in double plays. The .90 double plays per game ranks 41st in the nation.
 
Best Batting Average in Summit League
North Dakota State has a .308 batting average as a team, ranking 28th in the nation. It is also the best in the Summit League. Seniors Jake Malec and Bennett Hostetler have the top two batting averages in the league at .425 and .394. Malec ranks 95th in the country.
 
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 five times this season, ranking 18th in the country. He ranks 19th among active NCAA Division I players with 36 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 12th most among active NCAA Division I players. Calen Schwabe ranks 10th in the nation with three sacrifices this year and 42nd with .30 sacrifices per game.
 
Summit League Honors
For the second time this year, a Bison has been named the Summit League Player of the Week. This past week, Jake Malec earned the honor for the first time in his career. Malec went 7-for-16 with a home run, a triple and added six runs and six RBI as the Bison split a four-game series with Northern Colorado. The pair of 11-1 wins improved NDSU to 7-3 on the campaign. Senior Bennett Hostetler was named the player of the week on Feb. 23 for his performance against Western Kentucky.
 
Strikeout Sankey
Evan Sankey ranks sixth in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 19.0, while also ranking 33rd in strikeouts per nine innings at 15.55.  He leads the Summit League in both categories.
 
Harm Not Allowing Hits
Senior Parker Harm has allowed just 6.4 hits per nine innings over the course of his career. That ranks 24th overall among active players at all NCAA levels and the 14th best among NCAA Division I players. Harm also ranks 22nd among NCAA Division I active players and 29th overall among all NCAA levels with 88 career walks allowed.
 
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 306 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 Western Illinois to open Summit League play on Friday, March 19. The league will play four-game series at each location this year, which will include a doubleheader over the three days. First pitch for Friday is set for 12 p.m. and is a doubleheader. The two teams will face each other again Saturday and Sunday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. both days.