NDSU

Possesses good pop on the ball and is slated for the No. 3 spot in the starting rotation entering his senior season...Has made only five career starts, but has 30 appearances and almost 70 innings under his belt...2005 SEASON (JUNIOR): Made two starts in 13 appearances, finishing 1-1 with a team-best 4.65 ERA...Made five relief apperances (9 1/3 innings) between starts without giving up an earned run...Took a loss with six solid innings at 11th-ranked Nebraska (4/13), where he allowed eight runs (five earned) on 12 hits, struck out two and walked two...Pitched seven innings for a win at Oakland (5/21) in his final appearance, allowing three runs on eight hits, fanning five and walking none...2004 SEASON (SOPHOMORE): Made three starts in 10 games and finished 4-1 with a 5.26 ERA...Earned all four wins in consecutive appearances...Went 4 1/3 innings and struck out five in his first collegiate start against Wayne State (Mich.)...Struck out four in three innings of relief in his next outing for a win over Winona State...Appeared for 2 2/3 innings against Nebraska-Omaha, and struck out four in a three-inning starting role against Minnesota-Crookston...His only loss was in the start at Minnesota, where he surrendered three runs on five hits in two innings...2003 SEASON (FRESHMAN): Worked 12 innings over seven appearances with a 1-0 mark and a 5.25 ERA as a freshman...His win came in an 8-7 decision over Bemidji State, pitching four innings, allowing one run and striking out five...Pitched in four league games, allowing five runs over seven innings...2002 SEASON (REDSHIRT): Sat out the season as a redshirt in the Bison program...HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated in 2001 from Century High School, where he started for three years as a pitcher and center fielder under longtime coach Gene Severson...Named to the all-West Region team those three years and was tabbed Bismarck-Mandan’s City MVP his junior year...Also played basketball for three years, lettering twice and being named all-state as a junior and All-Western Dakota Association his senior campaign...Averaged a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior for the Patriots...PERSONAL: Studying management information systems with a minor in computer science...Worked as a crew leader for a moving company in the summer...Has an older brother, Joe...Son of Bill and Pat Branca of Bismarck, N.D.

Year       ERA   W-L   App  GS  CG SHO/CBO  SV    IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO
2003....  5.25   1-0     7   0   0   0/1     0  12.0    8    7    7    6    8
2004....  5.26   4-1    10   3   0   0/1     0  25.2   33   24   15    7   22
2005....  4.65   1-1    13   2   0   0/0     0  31.0   34   21   16   15   13
TOTAL...  4.98   6-2    30   5   0   0/2     0  68.2   75   52   38   28   43