SETTING THE STAGE
•The Southwest Minnesota State University (2-6, 1-2 NSIC) baseball team continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Thursday with a doubleheader versus Minnesota State University (9-5, 1-2 NSIC) in Mauston, Wis.
•The two games were originally scheduled to be played on Wednesday in Mankato, but was moved due to poor field conditions. The teams will play at Woodside Sports Complex starting at 12 p.m. with one 7-inning game and one 9-inning game.
•Both SMSU and MSU opened NSIC play last weekend. SMSU opened league play in Joplin, Mo., defeating Concordia-St. Paul, 6-5 and losing 3-2 in 10 innings last Friday, before dropping a 7-1 decision in game three of the series on Saturday. MSU lost two of three games to St. Cloud State in Omaha on Sunday and Monday.
 
?              GAME COVERAGE
•Live statistics for both games will be available at smsumustangs.com.
•Updates can also be found by following @smsubaseball on Twitter.
 
              SERIES HISTORY
•Minnesota State holds a 62-10 all-time series with the first meeting occurring in 1973.
•MSU has won 10 straight and 28 of the last 29 games since SMSU defeated MSU in the first round of the NCAA Region Tournament in 2009.
•SMSU's lone win since the 2010 season came on March 21, 2014, in Sioux City, Iowa.
 
              LAST TIME OUT
•SMSU opened NSIC play winning one of three games versus Concordia-St. Paul in Joplin, Mo., last Friday and Saturday.
•SMSU won the opening game of the series rallying from a 4-1 deficit to win 6-5. Jayden Fleck hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to help the winning comeback. Fleck and Kip Gronholz each finished the game with two hits in the win. Teddy Broxterman earned his first save of the season tossing the final two innings.
•SMSU lost 3-2 in 10 innings in Friday's nightcap. CSP scored two unearned runs in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead, before SMSU rallied in the seventh to tie the score. Mustang starter John Bezdicek tossed 6 1/3 innings allowing two unearned runs with six strikeouts and one walk. Nathan Kuhn finished with two hits in the loss.
•In Saturday's series finale, Kuhn, Jake Hendricks and Matt Bezdicek each finished with two hits.
 
?              HEAD COACH
•Paul Blanchard, the all-time leader in victories at SMSU, is in his 23rd season as head coach and has an overall record of 520-482-2, including 295-259 in conference play.
•He entered the 2019 season ranking 48th in Division II?among active coaches in career victories.
•During his tenure, Blanchard has led the program to one 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.
 
              NSIC SCHEDULE
•New this season, all weekend NSIC series will be three-game sets, with a doubleheader the first day consisting of one 7-inning game and one 9-inning game. The final game of the series will be a 9-inning game.
•All weekday doubleheaders will feature one 7-inning and one 9-inning game.
 
              TEAM NUMBERS
•Through eight games, SMSU is batting .262 with 15 extra-base hits, including nine doubles, three triples and three home runs.
•The SMSU pitching staff has compiled a 5.29 ERA in 66 1/3 innings with 58 strikeouts and 22 walks.
 
              MUSTANG DIAMOND NOTES
•Tanner Strommen had a season-high seven-game hitting streak snapped in the final game of last week's series versus Concordia-St. Paul.
•Nathan Kuhn leads the team with four multi-hit games and is currently on a five-game hitting streak.
•Strommen and Kuhn have reached base in all eight games this season.
•Jayden Fleck's grand slam to help defeat CSP on March 15 was the first grand slam by a Mustang since Fleck hit one versus Mount Marty on March 10, 2018.
•Donny Schroeder has recorded both of SMSU's victories in relief. He has not allowed a run in 4 1/3 innings.
•Wes Sarsland recorded his first career save win SMSU's win over Dordt on March 11.    
 
?              HEICHEL NAMED SECOND TEAM ALL-NSIC
•Junior outfielder Ben Heichel was the lone SMSU player to earn All-NSIC?accolades last season as he was named second team All-NSIC.
•In NSIC?play, Heichel finished third in the league in doubles (14), ninth in total bases (66), 10th in slugging percentage (.589), 13th in RBIs (24), 17th in base hits (40) and 18th in batting average (.357).
 
              FLECK EARNS 2018 ACADEMIC HONORS
•Senior Jayden Fleck was named a CoSIDA second team Academic All-American in 2018. It's the sixth time an SMSU?player has earned Academic All-American accolades.
 
              2019 NSIC PRESEASON POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish 12^th in the NSIC preseason poll.
•Defending NCAA champion Augustana was tabbed the preseason favorite.
 
?              MUSTANG SINGLE-GAME AND CAREER STATS
•For career statistics and game-highs for each Mustang player go to SMSUmustangs.com/baseballcareer.
 
              MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 50th season of baseball and has an all-time record of 950-1,065-3 in 2,018 games.
•SMSU won conference championships in 1974, 1994, 1996 and 2002 and captured NSIC?tournament championships in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2002.
•SMSU made its only NCAA tournament appearance in 2009.