THIS WEEK - The Southwest Minnesota State University (19-21, 12-12 NSIC) baseball team will take on Augustana College (24-15, 15-9 NSIC) in a four-game, home-and-home series this Saturday and Sunday. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday at Alumni Field in Marshall starting at 1:30 p.m., while Sunday's doubleheader will take place at Karras Park in Sioux Falls, S.D., beginning at 1:30 p.m.
SMSU, which is on a season-high three-game winning streak, begins the weekend tied for seventh place in the NSIC standings, while Augustana is in fourth place. The top eight teams qualify for the NSIC/US Bank Tournament on May 6-9 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The two teams have played once this season with Augustana earning a 4-2 win on March 13 in Tucson, Ariz.
Following this weekend's games, SMSU will host Bemidji State for a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 29.
MEDIA COVERAGE - Live statistics for all home games can be found at livestats.smsu.edu/baseball, while updates can also be found by following @smsubaseball on Twitter. Live stats for all games can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.
SERIES HISTORY - Augustana leads the series versus Southwest Minnesota State 45-44 with the first meeting coming in 1980. Augustana has dominated in recent seasons, having won six straight and 11 of the last 12 since April 11, 2012. The Vikings won all five meeting last season and also defeated SMSU earlier this season in Tucson, Ariz. SMSU has not defeated Augustana in Marshall since sweeping a doubleheader on April 26, 2010.
SMSU head coach
Paul Blanchard is 24-25 all-time versus Augustana.
ABOUT THE VIKINGS - Augustana begins the weekend at 24-15 overall, 15-9 NSIC. The Vikings lost three of four at home last weekend to Wayne State, but rebounded with two victories over Minnesota Crookston on Wednesday. Patrick O'Donnell is batting a team-high .485 with eight doubles, seven home runs and 22 RBIs. Bryce Berg is second on the team with a .443 batting average with seven doubles and two home runs, while Jacob James is batting .429 with seven doubles. Jack Goihl has belted a team-leading 12 home runs and has a team-high 47 RBIs.
The Augustana pitching staff is led by Ryan Hamilton who is 2-3 with a 4.53 ERA in a team-high seven starts and has a team-high 47 2/3 innings. Ryne Lees is 4-2 with a 5.23 ERA in 31 innings, while Michael Letkewicz is 0-4 with a 8.44 ERA in 21 1/3 innings with 15 strikeouts.
Augustana is batting .348 with 44 home runs and averaging 8.1 runs per game. The Viking pitching staff has compiled an ERA of 5.59 in 294 2/3 innings with 246 strikeouts and 117 walks.
SMSU HEAD COACH - Paul Blanchard, the all-time leader in victories at SMSU, is in his 19th season as head coach and has an overall record of 475-378-2, including 263-182 in conference play. During his tenure, Blanchard has led the program to its only NCAA tournament appearance, one NSIC championship, three NSIC tournament championships and 15 appearances in the NSIC tournament. Named the fifth coach in SMSU history on July 14, 1996, Blanchard has coached two NSIC Players of the Year, one NSIC Pitcher of the Year, 21 all-region honorees, two Academic All-Americans, one NCAA All-American and two Major League Baseball draft picks. A complete bio on coach Blanchard is on page 5.
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS - SMSU is 19-21, 12-12 NSIC, entering Saturday's games following a sweep of a doubleheader versus Concordia-St. Paul in Marshall. It was SMSU's first doubleheader sweep of the season. In game one,
Jason Minett belted a three-run home run to give SMSU a 6-5 lead in the fourth inning.
Colton Smith earned the win in relief, tossing four shutout innings with seven strikeouts and just one walk. In game two, SMSU scored five first inning runs and never looked back in earning its first victory via run-rule this season.
Brandan Alfson pitched the complete game with seven strikeouts, while allowing just one earned run.
Brian Redemske leads the team with a .366 batting average with 11 doubles and five home runs.
Austin Stubbs is second with a .361 average and has 13 doubles with team-high 12 home runs and 39 RBIs, while
Jarred Carlson has 14 doubles and a team-leading 44 RBIs.
Patrick Rients is batting .333 with five home runs, 13 doubles, 35 RBIs and a team-high 42 runs scored.
Alfson is 3-2 on the mound in eight appearances (five starts) with a 2.43 ERA in 37 innings.
Mitch Wurm (5-1, 5.07) has tossed a team-leading 49 2/3 innings with 45 strikeouts.
Jake Leighton has appeared in a team-high 12 games and has a 3.79 ERA in 19 innings with a 2-1 record and three saves.
Colton Smit is 3-0 with a 4.82 ERA in nine appearances.
Jimmy Callahan is 2-1 in seven starts with a 6.96 ERA in 32 1/3 innings.
SMSU is batting .306 with 41 home runs, while averaging 6.8 runs per game. The Mustang pitching staff has compiled a 7.25 ERA in 307 2/3 innings with 247 strikeouts and 154 walks.
