THIS WEEK - The Southwest Minnesota State University (13-15, 6-6 NSIC) baseball team continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this Saturday and Sunday with a four-game series at No. 2-ranked and NSIC leading St. Cloud State University (30-2, 14-2 NSIC) in St. Cloud, Minn. Saturday's doubleheader begins at 1 p.m., while Sunday's doubleheader will begin at 12 p.m. All four games will be played at Faber Field.
    SMSU returns home next Wednesday, April 15, to face the University of Sioux Falls at Alumni Field.

    LOOKING FOR VICTORY 900 - The next Southwest Minnesota State victory will be the 900th in program history. SMSU is 899-955-3 all-time in 1,857 games since the program started in 1970.

    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 this weekend's games versus St. Cloud State can be found at SMSUmustangs.com.

    SERIES HISTORY - St. Cloud State holds a 44-17 all-time lead over Southwest Minnesota State in a series that first started in 1970. This is the first time the teams have played in conference play since splitting a two-game series in St. Cloud on April 3, 2012. SCSU defeated SMSU 12-5 earlier this season on March 8 in Tucson, Ariz. SCSU is 3-1 versus SMSU in regular season NSIC play since joining the conference in 2009.
    SMSU head coach Paul Blanchard is 8-8 all-time versus St. Cloud State.

    ABOUT ST. CLOUD STATE - The No. 2 Huskies are coming off a Wednesday road sweep over Concordia-St. Paul on Wednesday and are 30-2 overall, 14-2 NSIC. Michael Jurgella is batting a team-high .453 with 11 doubles and six home runs. Kyle Lieser is second on the team with a .408 batting average with five doubles, while Zak Hoffman is batting .367 with nine doubles and a team-high 33 RBIs.
    The SCSU pitching staff is led by Reese Gregory who is 6-0 with three saves and has a 0.99 ERA, while Sheldon Miks is 5-0 with a 0.81 ERA. Ryan Diers (5-0, 3.41 ERA), Logan Spitzack (4-0, 2.50 ERA) and Garret Harrison (4-0, 2.54 ERA) all have recorded four or more victories this season.
    SCSU is batting .341 with 27 home runs and averaging 8.1 runs per game. The Huskies pitching staff has compiled an ERA of 2.58 in 255 innings with 226 strikeouts and 84 walks.

    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 469-372-2, including 257-176 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 13-15, 6-6 entering this weekend's series after splitting a road doubleheader with Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday. SMSU lost the opener 22-0, before rebounding with a 6-5 win in game two. Austin Stubbs led SMSU in game two going 2 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Brandan Alfson pitched the first six innings to record the victory, allowing three runs (two earned) with six strikeouts and two walks.
    Austin Stubbs leads the team with a .379 batting average with 11 doubles and eight home runs. Jarred Carlson is second with a .357 average and has 11 doubles with seven home runs. Stubbs and Carlson are tied for the team lead with 30 RBIs. Brian Redemske is batting .343 with a team-leading nine stolen bases. Patrick Rients is batting .336 with five home runs, eight doubles and 28 RBIs. Mitch Wurm (3-1, 4.62) has the lowest ERA among starting pitchers and has tossed a team-leading 37 innings with 35 strikeouts. Jake Leighton has appeared in a team-high nine games and has a 2.70 ERA in 13 1/3 innings with a 1-0 record and three saves.
    SMSU is batting .304 with 31 home runs, while averaging 6.9 runs per game. The SMSU pitching staff has compiled a 7.74 ERA in 218 2/3 innings with 188 strikeouts and 116 walks.