THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (7-15, 2-10 NSIC) continues NSIC play this Friday and Saturday with a four-game series at Northern State University (9-15, 2-10 NSIC) at Fossum Field in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
•The series was moved up one day due to poor weather expected on Sunday.
•Friday's doubleheader begins at 5 p.m., while Saturday's will start at 4 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.

    SERIES HISTORY
•SMSU is 94-40 all-time versus NSU, including winning 3-1 earlier this season in Tucson, Arizona.
•The SMSU victory on March 9, snapped a four-game losing streak to NSU.
•SMSU last played in Aberdeen during the 2015 season, splitting a four-game series.
•SMSU head coach Paul Blanchard is 56-18 versus NSU.  

    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 493-435-2, including 274-221 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.

    MUSTANGS DROP TWO GAMES ON WEDNESDAY
•SMSU dropped a pair of games at Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday, losing 14-1 in game one, before falling 2-1 in game two.
•SMSU has lost three NSIC games this season via walk-off.
•Chase Meyer earned a no-decision in game two, allowing one run on seven hits in seven innings.
•Derek Branson finished 2 for 3 with a walk in game two.
•SMSU was held to four hits in game one.

    ROOKIE REMAINS ON SOLID STREAK
•Freshman Tanner Strommen leads the squad with seven multi-hit games, while batting a team-high .324.
•Strommen has also been solid in the field with a .951 fielding percentage with 52 assists, 26 putouts and four errors.

    LEFTY IS "RIGHT ON"
•Sophomore left-hander Cole Petersen is 4-1 in five appearances with three starts this season.
•He has allowed just one earned run in 22 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts, nine walks and 22 hits.

    MUSTANG NOTES
•SMSU is 7-15 overall, 2-10 NSIC.
•SMSU has scored more than three runs in just one of 12 NSIC games.
•SMSU head coach Paul Blanchard is seven wins away from 500 in his career at SMSU.
•Tanner Strommen leads the team with a .324 batting average with four doubles and five RBIs.
•Jayden Fleck is hitting .239 and leads the team with 10 walks.
•Brian Redemske is tied for the team lead with six doubles and is second on the team with 11 RBIs.
•Shane Sellner leads the team with 13 RBIs and is batting .294.
•Derek Branson also has six doubles and ranks second on the team with 21 base hits.
•Strommen has a team-leading seven multi-hit games.
•Cole VanderBeek, Branson and Sellner all have five multi-hit games.
•VanderBeek is on a current six-game hitting streak.
•Strommen had a team-high seven-game hitting streak earlier this season.
•Strommen reached base in 16 straight games earlier this season.
•Davis Bryan has a 3.09 ERA in 11 2/3 innings in four relief appearances.
•Shawn Williams has pitched in a team-high nine games and  has a 1.88 ERA in 14 1/3 innings with two saves.
•Justin Clark has made five starts and has a 4.70 ERA with a team-high 16 strikeouts in 23 innings.
•SMSU is hitting .240 with nine home runs and 34 doubles.
•SMSU has an ERA of 6.32 with 94 strikeouts in 168 innings.
•SMSU has a .952 fielding percentage.

    SMSU IN THE NCAA STATS
•The following is where SMSU individuals rank in the latest NCAA statistics (April 2).
•A complete listing of where SMSU ranks in the NCAA stats is on page 7.
•Cole Petersen ranks fourth in ERA (0.40).
•Jayden Fleck ranks 80th in hit by pitch per game (0.3).

    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.

    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 923-1,018-3 in 1,944 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.

    ABOUT NORTHERN STATE
•Northern State is 9-15 overall, 2-10 NSIC.
•NSU snapped a nine-game losing streak with a game two win at Bemidji State on Wednesday.
•Ben Carolin is batting .340 with 15 runs scored.
•Ben Allen is batting .324 with two doubles.
•Lucas Lorenz has nine doubles, five home runs and 28 RBIs.  
•NSU is batting .280 with eight home runs and 35 doubles.
•NSU has an 5.77 ERA with 119 strikeouts in 185 2/3 innings.

    NEXT UP
•Southwest Minnesota State will host Wayne State College on Tuesday, April 11.