SETTING THE STAGE
•The Southwest Minnesota State University (2-11, 1-7 NSIC) baseball team continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Wednesday with a doubleheader versus the University of Sioux Falls (3-18, 1-7 NSIC) at Aspen Park in Brandon. S.D. The first game, scheduled for seven innings, is set to start at 7 p.m., followed by a nine-inning game.
•The two games were originally scheduled to be played at Sioux Falls Stadium, but was moved due to poor field conditions.
•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
•Southwest Minnesota State holds a 14-7 all-time series with the first meeting occurring in 1972.
•The series is tied 6-6 since USF moved to Division II and joined the NSIC.
•The teams split last season in Sioux Falls with USF winning 2-1, before SMSU earned an 8-7 win.
 
              LAST TIME OUT
•SMSU lost all five games last week in games played in Mauston, Wis.
•SMSU lost 2-1 in eight innings and 8-1 to Minnesota State last Thursday.
•SMSU then dropped three straight games to Winona State, losing 6-2 on Friday, before falling in two one-run games on Saturday, 3-2 and 6-5.  
•The Mustangs hit just .216 during the five games with eight doubles and one home run.
•Connor Johnson batted .357 in the five games with five hits, including a double.
•Jayden Fleck hit .294 with five base hits, including three doubles and three RBIs.
•Spencer Schroeder earned a no-decision in the game one loss to MSU. He allowed just one run on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
 
             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 520-487-2, including 295-264 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.
 
              TEAM NUMBERS
•Through 13 games, SMSU is batting .245 with 24 extra-base hits, including 17 doubles, three triples and four home runs.
•The SMSU pitching staff has compiled a 5.08 ERA in 102 2/3 innings with 85 strikeouts and 40 walks.
 
              MUSTANG DIAMOND NOTES
•Nathan Kuhn leads the team with four multi-hit games and is currently on a three-game hitting streak.
•Tanner Strommen and Jayden Fleck both have three multi-hit games.
•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.
•Connor Johnson reached base in 11 straight games earlier this season, the longest by a Mustangs this season.
•Wes Sarsland recorded his first career save win SMSU's win over Dordt on March 11.    
 
              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.
 
                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 950-1,070-3 in 2,023 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.