Friday, March 4
Long Beach, Calif.
8 p.m. CT
North Dakota State Athletics
at
Long Beach State
Photo by: Zachary Lucy
NDSU Ready for Road Swing Against Long Beach State and Minnesota
3/3/2022 10:38:00 AM | Baseball
THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State (4-4) baseball team is set to begin a four-game road swing. The Bison will open the trip with three games at Long Beach State (2-5) beginning Friday at 8:00 p.m. CT before wrapping up the road trip against Minnesota (2-7) on Tuesday night at U.S. Bank Stadium at 6:00 p.m.
GAME COVERAGE
Watch: Friday and Sunday's games at Long Beach State will be available on ESPN+ for subscribers. Tuesday's game at Minnesota will be live on B1G+ for subscribers.
Stats: Live statistics links for the Long Beach State series and game against Minnesota are available on GoBison.com.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE WEEK AGAIN
Evan Sankey was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week for the second straight week and went 1-0 on the mound with a team-high four strikeouts in the 6-2 win over Dixie State. He tossed six shutout innings for the Bison and extended his shutout innings streak to 11.0 to begin the season. The Appleton, Wis., native is 2-0 overall this season and is limiting opponents to a .286 batting average.
Sankey becomes the first NDSU pitcher to win back-to-back Summit League Pitcher of the Week awards since John Straka accomplished the feat during the 2013 season. It also marks his second overall Summit League Pitcher of the Week honor.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bison fell short at Dixie State in the series finale, 6-4, after the Trailblazers notched three runs in the second inning and two in the third. Ben Smith made his second start of the season on the hill with one strikeout over 3.0 innings. Wyatt Nelson also made an appearance and tossed a team-high three strikeouts over 2.2 innings.
THE BATS WENT TO WORK
In the series finale at Dixie State, the Bison tied a season-high 13 hits with Jack Simonsen leading the way tying a career-high four hits on five appearances. NDSU had seven different players register at least one hit in the contest.
STEALING THOSE BASES
The Bison have stolen 17 total bases this season, which ranks 30th in the nation. Cadyn Schwabe has a team-high four stolen bases and is averaging 0.57 stolen bases per game.
DREW CLOSES THINGS OUT
Jake Drew picked up two saves against Abilene Christian to increase his career total to six. His two saves are tied for 12th in the nation.
FAMILIAR FACES
First-year head coach Tyler Oakes played four seasons at Minnesota from 2006-09 and was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten performer.
Assistant coach Brandon Hunt is in his first year at NDSU after spending the last three with Minnesota as a defensive coach, third base coach and assistant hitting coach.
SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
Long Beach State enters the week on a five-game losing streak after opening the season taking two of three games at then-ranked No. 3 Mississippi State. In their most recent contest, the Dirtbags fell short in a midweek game at UCLA, 3-0, on Tuesday night.
Long Beach State also enters the week ranked in the Baseball America (No. 22), D1 Baseball (No. 25), NCBWA (No. 28), Perfect Game (No. 24) and is receiving votes in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.
THE SERIES VS. LONG BEACH STATE
This will be the first all-time meeting between NDSU and Long Beach State.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
Minnesota enters the week with a 3-7 overall record and most recently came up short against South Dakota State, 7-5, on Wednesday night at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Gophers will play each of their next seven games at U.S. Bank Stadium.
THE SERIES VS. MINNESOTA
This will mark the 34th all-time meeting between NDSU and Minnesota dating back to 2004. The Bison are 1-4 against the Gophers over the last five meetings and Minnesota leads the all-time series, 22-11.
FACING THE GOPHERS AT U.S. BANK STADIUM
This will mark fourth meeting between NDSU and Minnesota at U.S. Bank Stadium since it opened in 2016. In their most recent visit in 2020, the Bison scored four runs over the final two innings to top the Gophers, 7-4. Brock Anderson notched two hits and also pitched 2.0 innings with two strikeouts. NDSU is 2-1 when facing Minnesota at U.S. Bank Stadium.
UP NEXT
The Bison will begin a three-game series against Maine at the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational in Orlando, Fla. on March 11-13.
The North Dakota State (4-4) baseball team is set to begin a four-game road swing. The Bison will open the trip with three games at Long Beach State (2-5) beginning Friday at 8:00 p.m. CT before wrapping up the road trip against Minnesota (2-7) on Tuesday night at U.S. Bank Stadium at 6:00 p.m.
GAME COVERAGE
Watch: Friday and Sunday's games at Long Beach State will be available on ESPN+ for subscribers. Tuesday's game at Minnesota will be live on B1G+ for subscribers.
Stats: Live statistics links for the Long Beach State series and game against Minnesota are available on GoBison.com.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE WEEK AGAIN
Evan Sankey was named Summit League Pitcher of the Week for the second straight week and went 1-0 on the mound with a team-high four strikeouts in the 6-2 win over Dixie State. He tossed six shutout innings for the Bison and extended his shutout innings streak to 11.0 to begin the season. The Appleton, Wis., native is 2-0 overall this season and is limiting opponents to a .286 batting average.
Sankey becomes the first NDSU pitcher to win back-to-back Summit League Pitcher of the Week awards since John Straka accomplished the feat during the 2013 season. It also marks his second overall Summit League Pitcher of the Week honor.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bison fell short at Dixie State in the series finale, 6-4, after the Trailblazers notched three runs in the second inning and two in the third. Ben Smith made his second start of the season on the hill with one strikeout over 3.0 innings. Wyatt Nelson also made an appearance and tossed a team-high three strikeouts over 2.2 innings.
THE BATS WENT TO WORK
In the series finale at Dixie State, the Bison tied a season-high 13 hits with Jack Simonsen leading the way tying a career-high four hits on five appearances. NDSU had seven different players register at least one hit in the contest.
STEALING THOSE BASES
The Bison have stolen 17 total bases this season, which ranks 30th in the nation. Cadyn Schwabe has a team-high four stolen bases and is averaging 0.57 stolen bases per game.
DREW CLOSES THINGS OUT
Jake Drew picked up two saves against Abilene Christian to increase his career total to six. His two saves are tied for 12th in the nation.
FAMILIAR FACES
First-year head coach Tyler Oakes played four seasons at Minnesota from 2006-09 and was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten performer.
Assistant coach Brandon Hunt is in his first year at NDSU after spending the last three with Minnesota as a defensive coach, third base coach and assistant hitting coach.
SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
Long Beach State enters the week on a five-game losing streak after opening the season taking two of three games at then-ranked No. 3 Mississippi State. In their most recent contest, the Dirtbags fell short in a midweek game at UCLA, 3-0, on Tuesday night.
Long Beach State also enters the week ranked in the Baseball America (No. 22), D1 Baseball (No. 25), NCBWA (No. 28), Perfect Game (No. 24) and is receiving votes in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.
THE SERIES VS. LONG BEACH STATE
This will be the first all-time meeting between NDSU and Long Beach State.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
Minnesota enters the week with a 3-7 overall record and most recently came up short against South Dakota State, 7-5, on Wednesday night at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Gophers will play each of their next seven games at U.S. Bank Stadium.
THE SERIES VS. MINNESOTA
This will mark the 34th all-time meeting between NDSU and Minnesota dating back to 2004. The Bison are 1-4 against the Gophers over the last five meetings and Minnesota leads the all-time series, 22-11.
FACING THE GOPHERS AT U.S. BANK STADIUM
This will mark fourth meeting between NDSU and Minnesota at U.S. Bank Stadium since it opened in 2016. In their most recent visit in 2020, the Bison scored four runs over the final two innings to top the Gophers, 7-4. Brock Anderson notched two hits and also pitched 2.0 innings with two strikeouts. NDSU is 2-1 when facing Minnesota at U.S. Bank Stadium.
UP NEXT
The Bison will begin a three-game series against Maine at the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational in Orlando, Fla. on March 11-13.
Players Mentioned
U/P
/ Baseball
P/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
Vanderbilt vs. NDSU Baseball Highlights - March 8, 2026
Wednesday, March 11
NDSU Baseball Postgame Press Conference (NCAA Regional vs Creighton) - June 1, 2025
Sunday, June 01
NDSU Baseball Postgame Press Conference (NCAA Regional vs Kansas) - May 31, 2025
Sunday, June 01
NDSU Baseball Postgame Press Conference - NCAA Regional vs No. 3 Arkansas - May 30, 2025
Friday, May 30
