Bison Baseball Heads to Kansas for Non-Conference Series

Friday, April 30

Lawrence, Kan.

6 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Kansas

Photo by: Zachary Lucy

Bison Baseball Heads to Kansas for Non-Conference Series

4/29/2021 3:18:00 PM | Baseball

Live Streams NDSU Baseball Notes - Kansas

Scene Setter
The North Dakota State baseball team hits the road for a non-conference series against Kansas this weekend. The two teams will play three nine inning games, beginning on Friday night at 6 p.m. at Hoglund Ballpark. First pitch for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m., while the series finale on Sunday will start at 12 p.m.

Media Coverage
All three games this weekend will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. There will also be live stats for all three games, with links found at BisonStats.com.

Series History
Kansas owns a 9-1 lead in the all-time series that dates back to a 16-2 Jayhawk victory on March 8, 1986 in Edinburg, Texas. The Jayhawks won the first nine games in the series before NDSU beat Kansas 5-0 on Feb. 27, 2015 in Port Charlotte, Fla. The other eight victories all came in Lawrence. The last time the two teams faced in Lawrence was a three-game series in 2008, with the Jayhawks winning 4-3 (10), 13-0 (7) and 11-9.

Scouting the Jayhawks
Kansas enters the weekend with a 23-19 overall record and 4-11 record in the Big 12. Earlier this week, the Jayhawks split a two-game midweek series with Sacramento State. Tavian Josenberger leads the Jayhawks with a .350 average, while Skyler Messinger is the only other player over .300 with a .333 average. James Cosentino leads the Jayhawks with four home runs, while Messinger has a team-leading 16 doubles. On the mound, three players have made nine or more starts, led by Ryan Cyr's 11. Cyr has a 3-6 record with a 7.17 ERA. Daniel Hegarty has the most appearances on the team with 16, all coming in relief. Hegarty has a 4-1 record with a 2.51 ERA. Jonah Ulane leads the team with seven saves in 14 appearances, while tallying a 2-0 record and a 2.08 ERA.

What's at Stake
This weekend is the first of two bye weekends for NDSU in Summit League play, with the other coming on the final weekend of the season. NDSU has just two Summit League series left, as the Bison will host Omaha (May 7-9) and South Dakota State (May 14-16) to conclude the league slate. NDSU enters the bye weekend in second in the league standings with a .609 winning percentage, sitting behind Oral Roberts (.636) and ahead of Omaha (.583). Oral Roberts is slated to host South Dakota State this weekend, while Omaha will host Western Illinois. The series between Omaha and Western Illinois has been shortened to three games.

Flaa Makes MLB Debut
Former Bison Jay Flaa made his Major League Baseball debut on Tuesday with the Baltimore Orioles against the New York Yankees. Flaa tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless relief in the eighth and ninth, while striking out two-time MLB All-Star Aaron Judge for his first MLB strikeout.

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 (now has 97) and 13th career sacrifice fly (now has 14).

Get on and Steal it
Senior Bennett Hostetler ranks 21st in the nation with a .509 on-base percentage. He also ranks 38th in stolen bases with 15 and 80th in the country with .39 stolen bases per game.

Summit League Honors
North Dakota State has earned four of the nine Summit League Player of the Week awards and a pair of 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. This past week, senior Parker Harm was named the Summit League Pitcher of the Week, joining freshman Cade Feeney as Bison to win that award this season.

Best Batting Average in Summit League
North Dakota State has a .273 batting average as a team, ranking 102nd in the nation. It is also the best in the Summit League. Senior Bennett Hostetler has the top average in the league at .359, while Jake Malec is third in the league at .344.

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 20, with no one else having more than 16.

Turnin' Two
The Bison have turned 33 double plays in 38 games this season, ranking 13th in the country in double plays. The .87 double plays per game ranks 28th in the nation.

Leave The Guy Alone
Senior Bennett Hostetler has been hit by a pitch 16 times this season, ranking seventh in the country. He ranks 11th among active NCAA Division I players with 46 career hit by pitches.

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

Making the Sacrifice
Bennett Hostetler has 14 career sacrifice flies, the most in school history and the 14th most among active NCAA Division I players. Calen Schwabe ranks 31st in the nation with six sacrifices this year and 69th with .17 sacrifices per game. Zach Solano ranks 64th in the country with five sacrifice bunts, as Schwabe and Solano are the top two in the Summit League.

Get On and Drive Them In
Leadoff hitter Jake Malec ranks 20th in the nation in runs scored with 41, while Bennett Hostetler, hitting in the three spot, ranks 87th in the country with 35 runs batted in. Malec leads the Summit League in runs scored, while Hostetler leads the league in RBI.

Harm Not Allowing Hits
Senior Parker Harm has allowed just 6.52 hits per nine innings over the course of his career. That ranks 26th among active NCAA Division I players.

How Low Can You Go
Sophomore Max Loven ranks 10th among active NCAA Division I players with 1.45 walks allowed per nine innings. That total is 37th lowest among all active NCAA players across all divisions.

Nelson Saves The Day
Freshman Wyatt Nelson ranks 12th in the nation with seven saves on the year. Nelson is tied for fourth in single-season school history and tied for ninth 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 325 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
NDSU will have one more non-conference game before returning to league play, as the Bison host Mayville State on Tuesday, May 4 at Newman Outdoor Field. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. The Bison return to Summit League play on Friday, May 7, as NDSU opens a four-game series against Omaha with a doubleheader at Newman Outdoor Field. First pitch of Friday's doubleheader is scheduled for 3 p.m.