NDSU Baseball Heads to SDSU for Weekend Series

Friday, April 23

Brookings, S.D.

12 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

South Dakota State

Photo by: Tim Sanger

NDSU Baseball Heads to SDSU for Weekend Series

4/22/2021 12:57:00 PM | Baseball

NDSU Baseball Notes - South Dakota State Live Streams

Scene Setter
The North Dakota State baseball team hits the road for the final road Summit League series of the season this weekend, as NDSU heads south to Brookings for a four-game series with South Dakota State. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday, April 23, to start the series, with first pitch set for 12 p.m. The doubleheader will be a nine inning game followed by a seven inning game. Single, nine inning games will be played on Saturday and Sunday, with a 1 p.m. first pitch scheduled both days.

Media Coverage
South Dakota State will provide live video coverage of all four games, with links available at GoBison.com. There will also be live stats for all four games, with links found at BisonStats.com.

Series History
South Dakota State owns a 121-71 lead in the all-time series that dates back to a 17-8 Bison victory in Brookings in 1956. During the NCAA Division I era, SDSU holds a 50-39 advantage in the series. The Bison are 9-20 in Brookings since 2005, while this weekend will mark the first time NDSU has played in Brookings since 2017 due to weather and Covid-19. NDSU and SDSU have faced each other 14 times in four different locations since the last time they faced in Brookings on April 29, 2017. The two teams have split the last 10 meetings. Over the course of the 89 games played against each other in the NCAA Division I era, the Bison are averaging 4.26 runs per game.

Scouting the Jackrabbits
South Dakota State enters the weekend at 9-19 overall and 4-8 in Summit League play. The Jackrabbits haven't played since April 11, as their series this past weekend against Western Illinois was canceled due to Covid-19 Protocols within the Leatherneck program. The Jackrabbits have a .225 batting average as a team, led by Jess Bellows .308 average. Luke Ira (.282) and Derek Hackman (.280) join Bellows as the only Jacks with an average over .270. Hackman has a team-best 18 RBI, while also leading the Jacks with four home runs. On the mound, Adam Mazur leads the way with 40.1 innings pitched, as he has compiled a 2-4 record with a 5.13 ERA. Riley McSherry leads the Jacks in appearances with 0, while compiling a 1-1 record with a 14.34 ERA in 10.2 innings. In eight relief appearances, Bret Barnett leads the Jacks with two saves, while also having a 1-1 record with a 6.17 ERA.

What's at Stake
NDSU has just three Summit League series left, including this weekend. The Bison will host Omaha (May 7-9) and South Dakota State (May 14-16) to conclude the league slate. NDSU enters the weekend in second in the league standings with a .632 winning percentage, sitting behind Oral Roberts (.636) and ahead of Omaha (.583). The Golden Eagles and Mavericks had their series canceled, so NDSU would need three wins this weekend to move ahead of Oral Roberts in the standings.

Bison Pitching in Elite Company
Entering play this weekend, only five teams in the country have three starting pitchers with at least four wins apiece. North Dakota State is joined by perennial national powers Florida, Texas, Vanderbilt and Grand Canyon as the only schools in the country to boast that claim. Ben Smith ranks ninth in the country with six wins, while Evan Sankey ranks 40th with five wins. Cade Feeney ranks 101st with four wins.

Hot Through 30 Games
For just the fourth time in program history, NDSU was at least 22-8 through 30 games played. The Bison join the 2012 (23-7), 1998 (22-8) and 1996 (23-7) teams to have hit at least 22 wins in 30 games. The 2012 team finished the year 40-20, while the 1996 team was 37-11, the top two win totals in program history.

Breaking Records and Taking Names
Senior Bennett Hostetler broke a pair of career records during the home series opener against Western Illinois. Hostetler broke school records with his 92nd career walk and 13th career sacrifice fly.

Get on and Steal it
Senior Bennett Hostetler ranks 17th in the nation with a .514 on-base percentage. He also ranks 35th in stolen bases with 14 and 71st in the country with .42 stolen bases per game. He is one of two players in the country to have an on-base percentage over .500 with 14 or more stolen bases.

Summit League Honors
North Dakota State has earned four of the eight Summit League Player of the Week awards and a Summit League Pitcher of the Week honor. Senior Bennett Hostetler has earned the honor three times, while fellow senior Jake Malec earned the honor once. Freshman Cade Feeney has been named the Summit League Pitcher of the Week.

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 played 26-straight road games before hosting Western Illinois April 9. With 26 road games to start the year, the Bison played the most games on the road before having a home game of any team in the country. NDSU has the most road wins in the nation at 18, with no one else having more than 15. Valparaiso is the only team in the country that has not played a home game yet this year, but none have played more than 26 on the road before playing at home.

Turnin' Two
The Bison have turned 27 double plays in 33 games this season, ranking 30th in the country in double plays. The .82 double plays per game ranks 46th in the nation.

Best Batting Average in Summit League
North Dakota State has a .276 batting average as a team, ranking 91st in the nation. It is also the best in the Summit League. Senior Bennett Hostetler has the top average in the league at .355, while Jake Malec is third in the league at .348.

Leave The Guy Alone
Senior Bennett Hostetler has been hit by a pitch 15 times this season, ranking fifth in the country. He ranks 11th among active NCAA Division I players with 45 career hit by pitches.

Three Bags at Once
With four triples this season, senior Jake Malec leads the Summit League and ranks third in the nation.

Making the Sacrifice
Bennett Hostetler has 13 career sacrifice flies, the most in school history and the 18th most among active NCAA Division I players. Calen Schwabe ranks 17th in the nation with six sacrifices this year and 54th with .18 sacrifices per game.

Get On and Drive Them In
Leadoff hitter Jake Malec ranks 34th in the nation in runs scored with 36, while Peter Brookshaw, hitting in the two spot, ranks 95th in the country with 32 runs batted in. Malec leads the Summit League in runs scored, while Brookshaw leads the league in RBI.

Harm Not Allowing Hits
Senior Parker Harm has allowed just 6.53 hits per nine innings over the course of his career. That ranks 49th overall among active players at all NCAA levels and the 23rd best among NCAA Division I players.

How Low Can You Go
Sophomore Max Loven ranks eighth among active NCAA Division I players with 1.46 walks allowed per nine innings. That total is 31st lowest among all active NCAA players across all divisions.

Nelson Saves The Day
Freshman Wyatt Nelson ranks 17th in the nation with six saves on the year. Nelson is tied for seventh in single-season school history and tied for 12th in NDSU career history for saves.

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.

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.

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. Brown ranks third in Summit League history with 322 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.

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.

Up Next:
The Bison will step out of league play for the next five games, starting with a midweek game against Valley City State on Tuesday, April 27 at Newman Outdoor Field. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The Bison will have a bye in league play next weekend, as they travel to Kansas. The Bison and Jayhawks will play three games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with all three airing on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.