THIS WEEK – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (3-22, 1-9 NSIC) will travel to Sioux Falls, S.D, to face the University of Sioux Falls (14-17, 8-7 NSIC) on Wednesday, April 20, at Harmodon Park for a doubleheader starting at 1:30 p.m.

    MEDIA COVERAGE - Live stats links for the two-game series can be found by going to SMSUmustangs.com, while updates can also be found by following @smsubaseball on Twitter.

    SERIES HISTORY - Southwest Minnesota State leads the all-time series versus USF, 11-4, in a match-up that started in 1972. The teams have split six games since USF joined Division II in 2013. The teams split a two-game set last season in Marshall. SMSU head coach Paul Blanchard is 3-3 all-time versus USF.

    MUSTANG BASEBALL HISTORY - Southwest Minnesota State is in its 47th season of baseball and has an all-time record of 910-991-3 in 1,904 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 and has an overall record of 480-408-2, including 266-199 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. Complete bio is located on page 3.

    ABOUT SIOUX FALLS – The Cougars are 14-17 on the season, including 8-7 in conference play. USF is coming off a weekend losing three of four games at Bemidji State. USF is led by Josh Rehwaldt, who is batting .434 with 10 doubles and three home runs. Dylan Gavin is batting .400 with seven doubles and three home runs, while Matthew Minnick is batting .356 with 12 doubles 25 RBIs. As a team, USF is batting .342 with 26 home runs and averaging 8.0 runs per game. The USF pitching staff has a 8.53 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 224 2/3 innings.

    ABOUT THE MUSTANGS – Southwest Minnesota State is 3-22 overall, 1-9 NSIC, and have played just four games since April 4. SMSU's four-game series at Minot State last weekend was canceled due to poor weather. Through 25 games, Jon Leighton leads SMSU with a .398 batting average with 10 doubles, three home runs and a team-high 24 RBIs. Leighton ranks 59th in Division II in doubles per game (.40) and 106th in batting average. Tanner Picht is batting .323 with eight doubles and a team-leading five home runs, while Derek Branson is hitting .373 with seven doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs. On the mound, Erik Thorvilson (0-3) has tossed 22 2/3 innings in six appearances with 13 strikeouts, recording a 7.94 ERA. Justin Clark (1-2) has appeared in six games and has a 4.56 ERA. For the season, SMSU is batting .267 with 15 home runs, averaging 4.6 runs per game and a have a team ERA of 10.28.

    BRANSON TIES RECORD - Junior Derek Branson tied a school single-game doubles record in SMSU's win at Winona State on April 7 with three doubles. He is the ninth player in school history to record three in a game and the first since Jarred Carlson reached the mark during the 2015 season.  

    MUSTANGS BY THE NUMBERS – Tanner Picht and Jon Leighton lead the team with nine multi-hit games … Leighton has a team-high 10 multi-RBI games with Shane Sellner recording six multi-RBI games … Leighton is currently on a 16-game-game hitting streak, which is the longest by a Mustang this season. Derek Branson is currently on an 10-game hitting streak.

    YOUNG GUNS – Southwest Minnesota State has just three seniors on the active roster this spring. SMSU has started either a sophomore or true freshman on mound in 20 of 25 games this season.
     
    MUSTANGS AT HOME - SMSU was scheduled to play a total of nine doubleheaders at Alumni Field this season but has had one doubleheader canceled due to poor field conditions and another moved to Winona because of poor weather. 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.

    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.

    NEXT UP – Southwest Minnesota State will host Upper Iowa University for a four-game series this Saturday and Sunday at Alumni Field. Saturday's doubleheader starts at 1 p.m., while Sunday's twinbill begins at 12 p.m.