THIS WEEK - Southwest Minnesota State University (0-0) begins its 47th season of baseball this weekend with a four-game series versus Newman University (6-2) in Wichita, Kan. Saturday's doubleheader begins at 12 p.m., while Sunday's doubleheader is set to start at 11 a.m. All four games will take place at McCarthy Field.
 
            SERIES HISTORY - Southwest Minnesota State and Newman have never met in baseball.
 
            ABOUT NEWMAN - The Jets, a member of the Heartland Conference, are 6-2 on the season after completing a four-game home sweep of Wayne State last weekend and beating Washburn University on Tuesday. Newman, selected to finish seventh in 10-team Heartland Conference preseason poll, is hitting .292 as a team, while the pitching staff holds a 3.80 ERA.
 
            MUSTANG BASEBALL HISTORY - Southwest Minnesota State is in its 47th season of baseball and has an all-time record of 907-969-3 in 1,879 games. SMSU won conference championships in 1974, 1994, 1996 and 2002 and has won NSIC tournament championships in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2002. SMSU made its only NCAA tournament appearance in 2009.
 
            HEAD COACH - Paul Blanchard, the all-time leader in victories at SMSU, is in his 20th season as head coach in 2016 and has an overall record of 477-386-2, including 265-190 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.
 
            ABOUT THE MUSTANGS - This season's team features 12 returning letterwinners from last season's squad that finished 21-29 overall and finished ninth in the 15-team NSIC with a record of 14-20. The 2016 team will feature several newcomers in the line-up after having to replace six of its top seven hitters and top two pitchers from a season ago.
            One of SMSU's expected top returners this spring will miss the season due to an injury. Senior outfielder Brian Redemske batted .345 last season with 13 doubles and eight home runs, but suffered an injury in the off season and will redshirt in 2016.
            SMSU does return a handful of players who gained valuable experience last season. Sophomore second baseman Cole VanderBeek started 41 games and batted .280 with five doubles, one home run and 20 RBIs. Sophomore first baseman Shane Sellner played in 33 games with 29 starts and finished with five doubles, two home runs and 21 RBIs. Junior outfielder/shortstop Derek Branson made 39 starts and batted .227 with eight RBIs. Also returning is sophomore third baseman Josh Cook, who batted .353 in limited action with two doubles and three RBIs.
            On the mound, SMSU will need to replace Brandan Alfson and Mitch Wurm, who combined for 112 innings, eight wins, six complete games and 97 strikeouts in 2015.
            This year's pitching staff has just two members who started games last season. Senior Travis McGlauflin tied for third on the team with 11 appearances, including two starts, finishing 1-3 with a 7.33 ERA in 27 innings with 21 strikeouts. Sophomore Alex Jorgensen made eight starts a season ago and finished tossing 35 2/3 innings with 14 strikeouts.
            Sophomore reliever Jake Leighton led the squad with 15 appearances in 2015, recording a 2-1 mark with a team-high three saves. He finished with a 4.84 ERA in 22 1/3 innings with 20 strikeouts. Senior Colton Smit also returns after posting a 3-2 record and a 6.75 ERA in 22 2/3 innings with 23 strikeouts. He has appeared in 24 games with seven starts during his career. Also back are sophomores Brandon Woznak and Derek Schlangen, who combined to toss 16 2/3 innings in 17 games with 18 strikeouts.
           
            MUSTANGS AT HOME - SMSU is scheduled to play a total of nine doubleheaders at Alumni Field with the home opener set for March 25 versus Northern State. SMSU finished the 2015 season with an 8-10 home record.
 
            NSIC SCHEDULE - SMSU is scheduled to play a 34-game unbalanced schedule in conference play again this season. The team will play six four-game weekend series along with five mid-week doubleheaders. The schedule will allow SMSU to play 11 of 14 conference opponents at least twice this season. SMSU will not play Minnesota State, Minnesota Crookston or U-Mary in conference play.
 
            NSIC DOUBLEHEADERS - For the sixth straight season the first game of each NSIC doubleheader will be a 7-inning game, while game two is scheduled for a 9-inning game. If the first game goes into extra innings, then game two will be changed to a 7-inning game.
 
            SMSU PICKED NINTH IN NSIC POLL - Southwest Minnesota State University was picked to finish ninth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. St. Cloud State was chosen as the preseason favorite earning 190 points, including 10 first place votes. SMSU sophomore right-handed pitcher Alex Jorgensen and junior outfielder Derek Branson were both named "Players to Watch" in the conference this season.        
 
            MORE MUSTANG STATS - For career statistics and game-highs for each Mustang player go to SMSUmustangs.com/baseballcareer.
 
            2015 SQUAD IN THE SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS - The 2015 squad closed the season ranking among the top 10 in several offensive and pitching categories in program history. This season's squad ranked first in at bats (1,626), second in doubles (107), second in home runs (54), third in total bases (768), fourth in hits (489), sixth in walks (219), seventh in RBIs (305), 10th in runs scored (325). The pitching staff recorded 308 strikeouts, ranking first in team history, while the strikeouts per nine innings of 7.24 ranks sixth highest.
 
            NEXT UP – Southwest Minnesota State will play nine non-conference games from March 5-12 in Tucson, Ariz.