PREVIEWING THE WEEKEND
•The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (7-14, 5-13 NSIC) concludes its 13-game homestand this Saturday and Sunday taking on Bemidji State University (3-19, 2-15 NSIC) at Legion Field in Marshall. Saturday's doubleheader (7-9) begins at 1:30 p.m. with Sunday's nine-inning games slated to begin at 12 p.m.
•SMSU, which has dropped seven straight games, with six of the losses by a total of 11 runs, begins play this weekend in 13^th place in the NSIC standings, while BSU is currently in 15^th place.
•Following this weekend, SMSU will play its next seven away from home, including at Minnesota Crookston on Wednesday in a doubleheader and next weekend, April 24-25, at Minot State for a three-game series.
 
GAME COVERAGE
•Live video and stats for the three games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
 
ABOUT BEMIDJI STATE
•BSU is 3-19 overall, 2-15 NSIC, and is coming off a pair of losses at Concordia-St. Paul on Thursday by scores of 7-3 in eight innings and 13-9.
•Parker Borg leads the Beavers batting .339 (19 for 56) with six doubles and five stolen bases.
•Tom Keohen is hitting .219 (14 for 64) with a team-high three home runs and 15 RBIs.
•Through 22 games, BSU is batting .214, with 28 doubles, nine home runs, averaging 4.3 runs per game and have a team ERA of 12.21 in 160 innings with 136 strikeouts.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. BEMIDJI STATE
•SMSU and BSU have meet 169 times since the first meeting in 1970 with SMSU holding a 104-65 all-time advantage.
•SMSU earned a 16-9 non-conference victory last season in Tucson, Ariz., and won three of four games during the 2018 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 542-522-2, including 309-293 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 lost twice on Thursday to the University of Sioux Falls, 11-2 and 9-8. The loss in game two was SMSU's seventh one-run loss of the season.   
•SMSU scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie game two at 8-8. Chase McDaniel blasted a two-run homer in the inning, while Brodie Smith hit a game-tying two-run single.
•Jake Hendricks hit two home runs in game two and finished 3 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs scored
•Derek Smith had two hits, including a home run, while Kip Gronholz added two hits.
•Nathan Kuhn ranks tied for second in the NSIC (league games only) in batting average at .439 (29 of 66).
 
SMSU SEASON NUMBERS
•Through 21 games, SMSU is averaging 4.8 runs per game, batting .259 with 27 doubles and 13 home runs.
•The SMSU pitching staff has a 5.50 ERA in 162 innings with 150 strikeouts.
•Nathan Kuhn is batting a team-high .446 (33 of 74) with a team-high seven doubles and team-leading 40 total bases. He has a team-high 10 multi-hit games and has collected at least one hit in 18 of 20 games played.
•Matt Bezdicek is hitting .294 (20 of 68) with four doubles, three home runs and has a team-high 18 RBIs. He leads the team with six multi-RBI games and is second with seven multi-hit games.
•Jake Hendricks has four home runs, 13 RBIs and is hitting .261 (18 of 69).
•Brodie Smith is batting .254 (16 for 63) with four doubles, one home run and 13 RBIs.
•John Bezdicek has pitched a team-high 28 2/3 innings with a team-high 41 strikeouts. He is 2-1 with a 2.83 ERA with one shutout and three complete games.
•Kobe Lovell has a 3.65 ERA in 12 1/3 innings while appearing in eight games.
•Jake Wensmann has two victories in five starts and has recorded 17 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings.
•Kolby Kiser has appeared in four games with three starts and has a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings with nine strikeouts.
•Teddy Broxterman has pitched in eight games, has a 5.12 ERA and is third on the squad with 15 strikeouts.
•Jared Tschetter has appeared in eight games and has one win, two saves with a 2.45 ERA in 7 1/3 innings. 
 
MUSTANGS 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
•John Bezdicek was named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week on March 15 following his season-opening start versus Briar Cliff University on March 10.
•Bezdicek pitched 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.
 
MUSTANGS IN THE SMSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
•John Bezdicek ranks first in team history in strikeouts per nine innings (11.4) and fifth in strikeouts (188). Pat O'Brien (2002-05) and Ryan Morse (2003-05) are tied for third all-time in strikeouts with 190.
•Teddy Broxterman is tied for sixth in saves (6).
•Shawn Williams ranks fourth in appearances (50).
 
BEZDICEK EARNS 2020 ACADEMIC HONOR
•John Bezdicek was named 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District.
 
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.
 
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 2,080 games compiling an all-time record of 972-1,105-3.
•SMSU has won four NSIC regular season championships, four NSIC Tournament titles and has played in one NCAA Tournament.