Games 1-3: at Western Kentucky (Nick Denes Field) February 20, 2021 NORTH DAKOTA STATE BASEBALL Contact: Ryan Workman | (701) 809-6597 | [email protected] | @NDSUbaseball North Dakota State Bison Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 0-0 Overall (0-0 Summit League) 0-0 Overall (0-0 Conference USA) Head Coach: Tod Brown at Head Coach: John Pawlowski Overall Record: 299-331 (14th year) Overall Record: 602-453-2 (20th year) Record at NDSU: 299-331 (14th year) Record at Western Kentucky: 97-135-1 (6th year) Bison Schedule/Results Date Time NDSU Probable Starter Western Kentucky Probable Starter (0-0 Overall, 0-0 Summit League) Feb. 21 5 p.m. Cade Feeney (RHP, 0-0, 0.00) Sean Bergeron (RHP, 0-0, 0.00) 2/19 at Western Kentucky ..................................... Postponed Feb. 22 12 p.m. Ben Smith (RHP, 0-0, 0.00) Michael Darrell-Hicks (RHP, 0-0, 0.00) 2/20 at Western Kentucky ..................................... Postponed Feb. 22 3:30 p.m. Evan Sankey (RHP, 0-0, 0.00) TBA 2/21 at Western Kentucky ..................................... 5 p.m. 2/22 at Western Kentucky ..................................... 12 p.m. 2/22 at Western Kentucky ..................................... 3:30 p.m. Live Stats: WKUSports.com Live Video: N/A TV: N/A Radio: N/A 2/26 at Saint Louis ................................................ 3 p.m. 2/27 at Saint Louis ................................................ 3 p.m. Scene Setter: 2/27 at Saint Louis ................................................ 6 p.m. After the first two games of the series were postponed, the North Dakota State baseball team is set to open the 2021 2/28 at Saint Louis ................................................ 12 p.m. campaign on Sunday, Feb. 21, at Western Kentucky. The two teams will still play the originally scheduled three games, 3/5 at Northern Colorado .................................... 1 p.m. with one on Sunday at 5 p.m. and a doubleheader on Monday, Feb. 22, starting at 12 p.m. All games will be played at Nick 3/6 at Northern Colorado .................................... 1 p.m. Denes Field in Bowling Green, Ky. 3/6 at Northern Colorado .................................... 4:30 p.m. 3/7 at Northern Colorado .................................... 1 p.m. Media Coverage: 3/12 at Dayton ...................................................... 2 p.m. Live stats for the games will be available at WKUSports.com. 3/13 at Dayton ...................................................... 12 p.m. 3/14 at Dayton ...................................................... 12 p.m. Series History: 3/16 at Dayton ...................................................... 12 p.m. 3/19 *at Western Illinois ....................................... 12 p.m. Sunday’s game will be the first game between the Hilltoppers and the Bison. 3/19 *at Western Illinois ....................................... 3:30 p.m. 3/20 *at Western Illinois ....................................... 1 p.m. Previewing 2021: 3/21 *at Western Illinois ....................................... 1 p.m. Experience will be the key for the North Dakota State baseball team heading into the 2021 season. The Bison return nine 3/26 *at Oral Roberts ............................................ 3 p.m. starters and 10 pitchers from a shortened 2020 season, where the Bison finished with an 8-9 record. First baseman Brock 3/26 *at Oral Roberts ............................................ 6:30 p.m. Anderson led the Bison with a .333 batting average, including five doubles, a home run and 12 RBI. Tucker Rohde returns 3/27 *at Oral Roberts ............................................ 2 p.m. at third base, where he hit .297 with five doubles, a home run and 11 RBI. On the mound, the Bison return 2019 Summit 3/28 *at Oral Roberts ............................................ 1 p.m. League Newcomer of the Year Max Loven. A 2019 All-Summit League First Team selection, Loven was 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA 4/2 *at Omaha .................................................... 3 p.m. in four starts last season. He struck out 19 in 23 innings pitched. Gabe Pilla returns out of the bullpen, where he had a pair 4/2 *at Omaha .................................................... 6:30 p.m. of saves and a 1-1 record to go along with a .96 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 9.1 innings last year. In 14.1 innings last year, Zach 4/3 *at Omaha .................................................... 3 p.m. Smith went 2-0 with .251 ERA, while striking out 16 and walking just two. 4/4 *at Omaha .................................................... 1 p.m. 4/9 *Western Illinois..................................3 p.m. Scouting the Hilltoppers: 4/9 *Western Illinois..................................6:30 p.m. Western Kentucky went 10-6 in an abbreviated 2020 season, winning all four of its weekend series on the year. The 4/10 *Western Illinois..................................2 p.m. Hilltoppers are set to return 28 players from last season’s roster, including all nine starters from their 2020 squad. Western 4/11 *Western Illinois..................................1 p.m. Kentucky will also welcome 17 newcomers into the fold, which includes nine transfers and eight freshmen. Offensively, the 4/16 *Oral Roberts ......................................3 p.m. team will return five players who hit .300 or better last season in Matt Phipps (.368), Jack Wilson (.343), Davis Sims (.333), 4/16 *Oral Roberts ......................................6:30 p.m. Jackson Swiney (.333) and Ray Zuberer III (.328). On the mound, the squad is also set to bring back its top two starters in 4/17 *Oral Roberts ......................................2 p.m. Sean Bergeron (2-0, 2.59 ERA) and Michael Darrell-Hicks (2-1, 4.82 ERA), as well as its top closer in Jake Kates (2-0, 1 SV, 1.04 4/18 *Oral Roberts ......................................1 p.m. ERA). 4/23 *at South Dakota State ................................. 12 p.m. 4/23 *at South Dakota State ................................. 3:30 p.m. 4/24 *at South Dakota State ................................. 1 p.m. Opening Day Streak: 4/25 *at South Dakota State ................................. 1 p.m. With a 3-1 victory at Hawaii to open the 2020 season, North Dakota State has now won five-straight season openers. in 4/27 Valley City State ..................................5:30 p.m. 2019, the Bison beat Sacramento State 9-1. NDSU beat Incarnate Word 8-2 in 2018, Mississippi Valley State 10-4 in 2017 and 4/30 at Kansas ...................................................... 6 p.m. Arkansas-Pine Bluff 2-0 in 2016. 5/1 at Kansas ...................................................... 1 p.m. 5/2 at Kansas ...................................................... 12 p.m. Double Vision: 5/4 Mayville State .....................................5 p.m. NDSU turned 16 double plays last season, ranking 16th in the nation. NDSU also ranks 25th with .94 double plays per 5/7 *Omaha ..............................................3 p.m. game. The Bison lead the Summit League in double plays. 5/7 *Omaha ..............................................6:30 p.m. 5/8 *Omaha ..............................................2 p.m. Leave The Guy Alone: 5/9 *Omaha ..............................................1 p.m. Senior Bennett Hostetler ranked fifth in the nation in hit by pitch last year, having been hit 11 times in 17 games. He also 5/10 Concordia (Minn.) ................................6:30 p.m. ranks seventh with .65 hit by pitches per game. Hostetler has been hit by pitch 30 times in his career, ranking 29th among 5/14 *South Dakota State ............................3 p.m. active career players at the NCAA Division I level. 5/14 *South Dakota State ............................6:30 p.m. 5/15 *South Dakota State ............................2 p.m. Road Warriors: 5/16 *South Dakota State ............................1 p.m. In 2019, NDSU was the last NCAA Division I baseball team to play a home game. The Bison played 26-straight games away 5/20 at Eastern Kentucky ...................................... 5 p.m. from Newman Outdoor Field to start the season in 2019. In 2020, the Bison were scheduled to play the first 27 games away 5/21 at Eastern Kentucky ...................................... 5 p.m. from home before the season was cut short due to Covid-19. This season, the Bison are slated to play 27-straight road 5/22 at Eastern Kentucky ...................................... 11 a.m. games before opening the home schedule April 9 against Western Illinois. 5/26-29 ^at Summit League Championship .............. TBA * - Summit League game ^ - Summit League Championship (Omaha, Neb.) Making the Sacrifice: All home games in bold played at Newman Outdoor Field Peter Brookshaw ranked second in the nation with five sacrifice flies last season. Bennett Hostetler has 12 career sacrifice All times CENTRAL, unless noted flies, the second most in school history and the 15th most among active NCAA Division I players. Walk This Way: In 2019, Brock Anderson set a school record with 39 base on balls. In 17 games last season, Anderson had 13 walks and ranked 95th in the nation. BISON BASEBALL 2 How Low Can You Go? Max Loven ranks 48th among active NCAA Division I players with a 2.82 career ERA. He also ranks 14th among active NCAA Division I players with 1.61 career walks per nine innings. Harm Not Allowing Hits Senior Parker Harm has allowed just 6.43 hits per nine innings over the course of his career. That ranks 44th overall among active players at all NCAA levels and the 27th best among NCAA Division I players. Loven Named to Collegiate Baseball’s Freshmen All-American Team: 2021 Standings On top of being named the Summit League Newcomer of the Year, Max Loven was named to the Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American Team. In his rookie campaign, Loven was 4-2 with a 2.74 ERA. In 13 starts, he threw 88.2 innings Summit Overall with three complete games. Loven allowed 30 runs (27 earned) on 78 hits, while walking 15 and striking out 75. Loven Team W-L Pct. W-L Pct. L10 Str ranked 28th in the nation with 1.52 walks allowed per nine innings, while ranking 45th with a 5-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. South Dakota State 0-0 .000 1-1 .500 1-1 W1 He also ranked 56th in WHIP at 1.05 and 87th in ERA.