Dakota State at North Dakota State
Tuesday, April 23 | 6:30 p.m. | Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
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Live Video |
Live Audio
Scene Setter:
The North Dakota State (10-19, 8-10 Summit) baseball team steps out of Summit League play on Tuesday, April 23, as the Bison take on Dakota State (3-29, 1-17 NSAA). The Trojans are an NAIA school that is a member of the North Star Athletic Association.
Media Coverage:
Live Stats for the game will be available at BisonStats.com. Live video will be available at GoBison.com/watch, while Bison 1660 will broadcast the game.
Series History:
North Dakota State holds a 4-0 record all-time against the Trojans. NDSU won a doubleheader at Dakota State in 1996 11-0 and 16-0, with both games ending after five innings. NDSU also earned a 9-1 win in 2015 and beat the Trojans 16-1 last season.
Last Time Out:
The Bison split a doubleheader on Saturday against Oral Roberts, winning the nightcap with a walk-off single by
Tucker Rohde.
NDSU struck first in the nightcap, as
Brock Anderson connected on his first career home run with two outs in the first inning. Oral Roberts quickly answered with a run in the second inning. With two outs in the fifth,
Jayse McLean singled to right field to drive in
Jake Malec and give the Bison the 2-1 lead. The Golden Eagles scored three runs in the top of the sixth to take the lead back.
In the bottom of the seventh, NDSU added four runs to regain the lead. With one out, McLean reached on an error that allowed Malec to score.
Jack Simonsen then singled through the right side to bring in
Peter Brookshaw. A pinch-hit single by Rohde drove in McLean and Anderson to give NDSU the lead. Oral Roberts wouldn't go away, tying the game with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth. In the ninth, McLean reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second and third on wild pitches. After an intentional walk to Simonsen, Rohde singled to second base to bring in McLean for the winning run.
Anderson had three hits in the nightcap, while Simonsen, Rohde and Malec each had two. Anderson, McLean and Malec each scored twice, while Rohde drove in three runs with McLean also driving in a pair.
Ben Smith had a no-decision in the start, striking out five and walking four in 5.2 innings of work. Smith gave up four runs on six hits and four walks.
Blake Tritch had a pair of strikeouts in 1.1 innings, while
Jordan Harms and
Hunter Koep each had a strikeout in an inning of work. Koep picked up his first win of the season on the mound.
Last Time Against Dakota State:
The North Dakota State University baseball team scored 16 runs on 11 hits to coast to a 16-1 victory over the Dakota State University Trojans in the 2018 home opener under the lights at Newman Outdoor Field on Wednesday, April 25.
Redshirt junior outfielder
Jayse McLean went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and hit his team-high sixth home run and third triple of the season, and drove in four runs to lead NDSU offensively. Senior infielder
Drew Fearing added three hits, including a double, and tallied three RBI, respectively.
NDSU right-handed freshman
Zach Smith (2-0) earned the victory on the mound after throwing three scoreless innings with six strikeouts and no walks.
The Bison plated all 16 of their runs in the first five innings of the contest.
Smith Kemper went 2-of-4 with a double and RBI to lead Dakota State (4-24) in the batter's box.
DSU's Kyle Grant (0-1) suffered the loss after surrendering five earned runs on five hits with three walks and no strikeouts in two innings.
McLean Named Candidate for Senior CLASS Award:
Jayse McLean was one of 30 NCAA baseball student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
McLean graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in mechanical engineering. The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2019 College World Series® in June.
Loven Is Dealin':
Freshman
Max Loven ranks 24th in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings at 1.27, while also ranking 24th in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 6.63. Loven also ranks 166th in ERA at 2.86.
Road Warriors:
NDSU was the last NCAA Division I baseball team to play a home game this season. While South Dakota State hasn't hosted a game on their home field yet, they have been the home team at stadiums ruled as "home fields" for the Jackrabbits. On the flip side, Dakota State has yet to play a home game as well. The Trojans are 0-14 on the road and 3-15 at neutral sites.
Scouting the Trojans:
Dakota State is 3-29 overall and 1-17 in the North Star Athletic Association. The Trojans have lost 17-straight games entering Tuesday's game at Newman Outdoor Field. The Trojans are hitting .234 on the season with 219 hits. Of the 219, 43 have been doubles. Dakota State has 233 strikeouts on the year, while walking 85 times. Marcos Alvarez leads the offensive attack with a .309 batting average with 30 hits. Jerrett Plunkett is second on the team with a .301 average with a team-high 34 hits. Adam Berryhill has tossed a team-best 32.1 innings on the mound with a 6.68 ERA. Berryhill also has a team-best 26 strikeouts on the year.
Getting the Bunt Down:
Junior
Bennett Hostetler ranks 34th in the country with .21 sacrifice bunts per game, while also ranking 77th with six sacrifice bunts on the season.
Nine-Straight 20 Win Seasons:
North Dakota State has reached the 20-win mark nine straight seasons. The Bison have qualified for seven Summit League tournaments, winning the tournament championship in 2014 and reaching the championship game in four of the last seven seasons. This is NDSU's 12th season in The Summit League after three seasons as a Division I independent.
Summit League Preseason Poll:
The Bison were picked to finish third in the Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll. Oral Roberts received all five of its possible first-place votes for 25 total points. South Dakota State received the final first-place vote and placed second with 21 points. North Dakota State followed in third (17 points) and Western Illinois was in fourth (12 points) while Omaha (9 points) and Fort Wayne (6 points) rounded out the poll.
Jayse McLean and
Parker Harm were named to the Summit League Players to Watch list.
Brown Making Moves in Summit League Record Books:
North Dakota State Head Coach
Tod Brown has moved up the charts of the Summit League record books this year. Brown has moved into fourth in Summit League history with 282 wins, passing former Oral Roberts coach Sunny Golloway for fourth on the list. Brown also joined Valparaiso's Paul Twenge as the only two coaches in Summit League history to have coached 300 or more league games.
McLean Voted to 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America Baseball Team:
Jayse McLean was voted to the Google Cloud Academic All-America Division I Baseball Team, as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America. It was McLean's inaugural selection to the team, as he was also named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District First Team earlier in the year. He was the first NDSU honoree since Tim Colwell in 2014 for the all-district team. McLean boasts a perfect 4.00 grade-point average majoring in mechanical engineering.