PREVIEWING THIS WEEKEND
•The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (1-1) opens Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this Saturday and Sunday with a three-game series versus Upper Iowa University (1-3) at Robertson Woods Field in Fayette, Iowa.
•Saturday's doubleheader is set to begin at 12 p.m., while Sunday's game will start at 12 p.m.
•For the third straight season, the first day of a weekend conference series will feature one seven and one nine-inning game, while the final day will feature one nine-inning game.
•Following this weekend's series, SMSU will play at Augustana for a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 24.
GAME COVERAGE
•Live audio and stats for the series will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
ABOUT UPPER IOWA
•Upper Iowa, picked 14
th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, is 1-3 on the season following a four-game series at Rockhurst (Mo.) on March 5-7.
•UIU third-year head coach Jeremy Ische was an assistant coach at SMSU for two seasons from 2013-14.
•Alex Green leads the Peacocks batting .571 with eight hits and six RBIs. Noah Gyldenvand is hitting .400 with four hits and three walks.
•Through four games, UIU is batting .289, averaging 5.5 runs per game and have a team ERA of 8.13.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UPPER IOWA
•SMSU and UIU have meet 48 times since the 2005 season with UIU holding a 25-23 all-time advantage.
•The two clubs last met in 2019, with SMSU taking two of three from UIU in Fayette.
•The last seven games have all been played in Fayette.
SMSU HEAD COACH
•
Paul Blanchard, the all-time leader in victories at SMSU, is in his 25
th season as head coach and has an overall record of 536-509-2, including 304-280 in conference play.
•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.
SMSU DIAMOND NOTES
•SMSU opened the season on March 10 splitting a doubleheader at Briar Cliff (Iowa), losing the first game, 3-2, before bouncing back with an 8-3 victory in the nightcap.
•SMSU had 10 players make their collegiate debuts in the two games.
•SMSU used 11 pitchers in the two games while many of the position players got at least one at bat.
•In the opener, SMSU held a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh, but the Chargers used a two-out rally to score two runs and earn the walk-off victory.
•
Matt Bezdicek drilled a home run in the second inning in game one, while
Brodie Smith drove in a run with a ground out in the third, to build a 2-0 advantage.
•
Matt Bezdicek had two of SMSU's five hits in the opener.
•
John Bezdicek started on the mound for the Mustangs and struck out eight batters in three innings and allowed one walk.
•In game two, SMSU tied a team record with nine doubles in earning the victory.
•
Nathan Kuhn led SMSU's 15-hit attack with three hits and three runs scored, while
Kip Gronholz and
Derek Smith each collected a pair of hits.
•
Jake Wensmann started on the mound for SMSU and fired three shutout innings with five strikeouts, while allowing one walk and two hits in picking up the victory.
MUSTANG TIE TEAM RECORD
•SMSU's nine doubles in a game two victory at Briar Cliff on March 10 tied a program record. SMSU also collected nine doubles versus Minnesota Duluth on March 15, 2009, and versus Minot State on March 29, 2015.
BEZDICEK EARNS NSIC PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONORS
•Left-hander
John Bezdicek was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday following his season-opening start versus Briar Cliff University on March 10.
•Bezdicek was scheduled to pitch just three innings in the opener and was dominate in his short appearance. He faced 10 batters and recorded eight strikeouts, while allowing one walk.
MORE MUSTANG STATS
•For career statistics and game-highs for each Mustang player go to SMSUmustangs.com/baseballcareer.
NSIC SCHEDULE
•For the third straight season, all NSIC weekend series will be three-game sets. The teams will play one seven and one nine-inning game the first day and will close the series with a nine-inning game the following day.
•All weekday match-ups will be doubleheaders with one seven-inning game and one nine-inning game.
•SMSU is scheduled to play 36 conference games starting on March 20-21 at Upper Iowa.
MUSTANGS IN THE SMSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
•
John Bezdicek ranks first in team history in strikeouts per nine innings (11.4) and is seventh in strikeouts (155).
•
Teddy Broxterman is tied for sixth in saves (6).
BEZDICEK EARNS 2020 ACADEMIC HONOR
•
John Bezdicek was named CoSIDA Academic All-District following the 2020 season.
NEW FORMAT FOR 2021 NSIC TOURNAMENT
•The NSIC Tournament will have a new look this season over two weekends in the month of May. The top eight teams will qualify for the tournament with the top four seeds hosting a best 2-out-3 series from May 13-16.
•The final four teams remaining will advance to Sioux Falls, S.D. for a double-elimination tournament on May 20-23 at Karras Park on the campus of Augustana and Sioux Falls Stadium
•The champion of the tournament will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
SMSU PICKED 12
TH IN NSIC POLL
•Southwest Minnesota State University was picked to finish 12
th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Mustang junior
John Bezdicek was named a "Pitcher to Watch", while senior infielder
Nathan Kuhn was named a "Player to Watch" in the NSIC this spring.
MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 52
nd season of baseball in 2021.
•SMSU has played 2,061 games compiling an all-time record of 966-1,092-3.
•SMSU has won four NSIC regular season championships, four NSIC Tournament titles and has played in one NCAA Tournament.
