THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (7-9, 2-4 NSIC) continues NSIC play this Saturday and Sunday with a four-game home-and-home series versus Minnesota State University (15-4, 10-0 NSIC). Saturday's doubleheader will take place in Mankato at the MSU Baseball Complex, while Sunday's doubleheader will be at SMSU's Alumni Field. Start time for both days is set for 1:30 p.m.

    MEDIA COVERAGE
•Live statistics for the four-game series will be available at smsumustangs.com.
•Updates can also be found by following @smsubaseball on Twitter.

    HEAD COACH
•Paul Blanchard, the all-time leader in victories at SMSU, is in his 21st season as head coach and has an overall record of 493-429-2, including 274-215 in conference play.
•He entered the 2017 season ranking 45th in Division II among active coaches in career victories.
•During his tenure, Blanchard has led the program to its only NCAA tournament appearance, one NSIC championship, three NSIC tournament championships, 15 appearances in the NSIC tournament and four 30-win seasons.
•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.

    WEDNESDAY'S ACTION
•Southwest Minnesota State split a home doubleheader with Sioux Falls on Wednesday, losing 2-0, before winning 5-2.
•SMSU was held to just four hits in the shutout loss in game one.
•Justin Clark suffered the loss allowing one run on three hits in five innings.
•In game two, Cole Petersen tossed a career-high 8 1/3 innings allowing two unearned runs on eight hits.
•Kody Larson finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs.
•Shane Sellner had a strong game finishing 3 for 4.

    ROOKIE STARTS HOT
•Freshman Tanner Strommen has opened the season in a big way leading the squad with five multi-hit games, while batting a team-high .321.
•Strommen has also been solid in the field with a .984 fielding percentage with 42 assists, 19 putouts and just one error.

    LEFTY IS "RIGHT ON"
•Sophomore left-hander Cole Petersen is 4-0 in four appearances with two starts this season.
•He has not allowed an earned run in 20 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts, seven walks and 19 hits.
•In his two start this season, he has allowed two unearned runs in 15 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and 13 hits.   

    MUSTANG NOTES
•SMSU is 7-9 overall, 2-4 NSIC, following a home split with Sioux Falls on Wednesday afternoon.
•Tanner Strommen leads the team with a .321 batting average with three doubles and five RBIs.
•Jayden Fleck is hitting .300 and leads the team with 10 walks.
•Brian Redemske is tied for the team lead with six doubles and is tied for the team lead with 11 RBIs.
•Shane Sellner is tied for the team lead with 11 RBIs.
•Derek Branson also has six doubles and ranks second with 16 base hits.
•Strommen has a team-leading five multi-hit games.
•Strommen has reached base in 14 straight games.
•Fleck, Branson and Sellner each have four multi-hit games.
•Strommen had a team-high seven-game hitting streak earlier this season.
•SMSU is hitting .251 with eight home runs and 27 doubles.
•SMSU has an ERA of 6.14 with 74 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings.
•SMSU has a .956 fielding percentage.

    SMSU IN THE NCAA STATS
•The following is where SMSU ranks in the latest NCAA statistics (March 26).
•SMSU's Derek Branson and Brian Redemske both rank 65th in Division II in doubles per game (0.43).
•Alex Jorgensen is 66th in saves (3).
•Liam Lopez is 34th in hit by pitch per game (0.36).

    ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE
•Minnesota State is 15-4 overall, 10-0 NSIC.
•MSU has won 11 straight games.
•The Mavericks swept a doubleheader from Winona State on Thursday, taking game one, 12-1 and earning an 11-9 victory in game two.
•Jordan Hart is batting .391 with seven doubles and two home runs.
•Eric Peterson leads the club with three home runs and is batting .385 with four doubles.
•Brody Rodning is 3-0 in five appearances with one save and has a 0.38 ERA in 24 innings with 29 strikeouts.
•MSU is batting .293 with 13 home runs and 40 doubles.
•MSU has an 2.42 ERA with 179 strikeouts in 156 1/3 innings.
    
    MUSTANGS AT HOME
•SMSU is scheduled to play a total of eight doubleheaders at Alumni Field with the home opener set for March 29 versus Sioux Falls.

    NSIC SCHEDULE
•SMSU is scheduled to play a 38-game unbalanced schedule in conference play this season.
•The team will play seven four-game weekend series along with five mid-week doubleheaders.
•The schedule will allow SMSU to play 12 of 14 conference opponents at least twice this season.
•SMSU will not play Minot State or St. Cloud State in conference play.

    NSIC DOUBLEHEADERS
•For the seventh 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 12TH IN NSIC POLL
•Southwest Minnesota State University was picked to finish 12th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Minnesota State was chosen as the preseason favorite earning 192 points, including 10 first place votes.

    MUSTANG BASEBALL HISTORY
• Southwest Minnesota State is in its 47th season of baseball and has an all-time record of 923-1,012-3 in 1,938 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.

    MORE MUSTANG STATS
•For career statistics and game-highs for each Mustang player go to SMSUmustangs.com/baseballcareer.

    NEXT UP
•Southwest Minnesota State will play a doubleheader at Minnesota Duluth on April 5.