PREVIEWING THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team opens its 52^nd season of play this Wednesday with a non-conference doubleheader at Briar Cliff University (10-1) in Sioux City, Iowa. The twinbill is set to begin at 1 p.m. at Bishop Mueller Field.
•SMSU was 6-5 last season when the season was canceled in mid-March.
•Following this week's two games, SMSU will open its 36-game conference schedule with a three-game series at Upper Iowa on March 20-21.
 
            GAME COVERAGE
•Live video and stats for both games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
 
ABOUT BRIAR CLIFF
•Briar Cliff is 10-1 on the season, including winning three of four versus Waldorf this past weekend.
•BCU second-year head coach Corby McGlauflin, was a relief pitcher for four seasons at SMSU from 2010-13. He appeared in 45 games and finished with a 6-5 record with a 4.02 ERA in 69 1/3 innings.
•BCU was picked to finish ninth in the 11-team Great Plains Athletic Conference.
•Jared Sitzmann leads the Chargers batting .400 with 11 RBIs. Harrison Jestel has clubbed four home runs and has a team-high 14 RBIs.
•Through 10 games, BCU is batting .287 and has a team ERA of 4.24.
 
            SERIES HISTORY VS. BRIAR CLIFF
•SMSU and BCU have meet 11 times since the 1980 season with SMSU holding a 6-5 advantage.
•SMSU swept a doubleheader on March 9, 2018, in Tucson, Ariz., by scores of 6-4 and 7-0. It was the first meeting between the two schools since the 1992 season.
 
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 535-508-2, 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.
 
            2021 SMSU TEAM PREVIEW
•Despite graduating a strong group of seniors from last season's team, the 2021 Mustangs feature 18 returning letter winners, including numerous with a plethora of experience from the 2020 team that was 6-5 overall before the season was canceled.
•The pitching staff is led by John Bezdicek, who has led the team in strikeouts the past two seasons.
•Right-hander Jeremiah Van De Steeg recorded 12 strikeouts and a 2.92 ERA in two starts in his first season with the club last season.
•Right-hander Jake Wensmann returns after ranking second in innings pitched in 2020, while senior left-hander Teddy Broxterman also returns after appearing in three games last season. Broxterman appeared in a team-high 14 games during the 2019 season.
•The SMSU offense returns several of its top hitters from last season's abbreviated season. •Nathan Kuhn batted .385 with six RBI, while sophomore infielder Kip Gronholz hit .455 with four stolen bases. Both players led the team in 2020 with 15 base hits.
•First baseman Matt Bezdicek batted. 303 and tied for the team lead with three doubles in 2020, while senior catcher Derek Smith is also back after batting .346 with two doubles and one triple last spring.
•Outfielder Andy Andresen hit .276 last season, while outfielder Jake Hendricks is also back after leading the 2019 team with 22 RBIs and a team-high 10 doubles.
 
          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
•Entering the 2021 season, John Bezdicek ranks first in team history in strikeouts per nine innings (11.0) and is tied for seventh in strikeouts (147).
•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.
 
            NSIC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO SIOUX FALLS
•The 2021 NSIC Tournament will be held in May 12-15 in Sioux Falls, S.D., at Karras Park on the campus of Augustana and Sioux Falls Stadium
•The top eight teams in the final regular season standings will qualify for the tournament with the champion earning 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 2,059 games compiling an all-time record of 965-1,091-3.
•SMSU has won four NSIC regular season championships, four NSIC Tournament titles and has played in one NCAA Tournament.