Complete Release (PDF)

This Week: The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (26-11), ranked fifth in the latest NCAA regional rankings, plays in the 2009 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament this Thursday, May 7 through Sunday, May 10, at Faber Field in St. Cloud, Minn.
    SMSU, the No. 4 seed, opens the tournament versus No. 3 seed Winona State University (29-19) on Thursday, May 7, starting at 7 p.m.  If SMSU wins, they'll play on Friday, May 8, versus the winner of No. 2 Minnesota State/No. 5 Upper Iowa at 7 p.m. and if they lose, they'll play at 3:30 p.m. versus the winner of No. 1 Wayne State and No. 6 Augustana.
    It will be the fifth time SMSU and WSU have played each other in the past two weeks with each team winning twice.  SMSU?swept a doubleheader at WSU winning 14-7 and 12-8, while WSU returned the favor over a week later winning 14-3 and 13-10 in Marshall.

NSIC Tournament Schedule: The following is this year's NSIC Tournament schedule:
Thursday, May 7
Game 1 / 12:00: #2 Minnesota State vs. #5 Upper Iowa
Game 2 / 3:30: #1 Wayne State vs. #6 Augustana
Game 3 / 7:00: #3 Winona State vs. #4 SMSU

Friday, May 8
Game 4 / 12:00: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5 / 3:30: Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3
Game 6 / 7:00: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3

Saturday, May 9
Game 7 / 12:00: TBD
Game 8 / 3:30: TBD
Game 9 / 7:00: TBD

Sunday, May 10
Game 10 / 12:00: TBD
Game 11 / 3:30: TBD - If necessary

About the Mustangs: Southwest Minnesota State begins the NSIC tournament with a record of 26-11 overall and finished fourth in the NSIC with a record of 16-10.  Senior Derek West is batting a team-high .453 (53 for 117) in 35 games and is second with a .778 slugging percentage.  Sophomore Doug Stearns and junior Andrew Kinney are both batting .403, while Kinney leads the club with 13 home runs and has a team-high 46 RBI.  Junior Matt Bauer is hitting .388 with a team-high 11 doubles and ranks second with 11 home runs.  Junior Derick Swenson is the team's leader with nine stolen bases in 12 attempts.
    The pitching staff is anchored by junior Adam Schrader and sophomore Curtis Smith.  Schrader is 4-1 with a 3.80 ERA in nine appearances with eight starts and has recorded a team-high 48 strikeouts in 45 innings.  Smith is 7-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 46 innings and has racked up 40 strikeouts.  Junior Tyler Paulson and senior Aaron Rocheleau have each appeared in 12 games with Paulson recording four saves.