PREVIEWING THE WEEKEND
•The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (7-9, 5-8 NSIC) continues home action this Saturday and Sunday taking on Winona State University (10-10, 7-8 NSIC) in a three-game series at Legion Field in Marshall.
•Saturday's doubleheader (7-9) begins at 1:30 p.m. with Sunday's nine-inning game set to begin at 12 p.m.
•WSU begins the weekend in eighth place in the NSIC standings, while SMSU is currently in 10^th place.
•Following the weekend, SMSU will host Sioux Falls on Wednesday before concluding the homestand versus Bemidji State in a three-game series on April 17-18.
 
GAME COVERAGE
•Live video and stats for the three games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
 
ABOUT WINONA STATE
•WSU, picked sixth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, has a 10-10 overall record, including 7-8 in the NSIC.
•WSU snapped a five-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 5-1 victory in game two of a doubleheader at St. Cloud State.   
•Sam Kohnle leads the Warriors batting .389 (28 for 72) with six doubles and 16 RBIs, while Derek Baumgartner is hitting .333 (20 for 60) with three home runs, three triples and 16 RBIs.
•Through 20 games, WSU is batting .270, with 33 doubles, 10 home runs, averaging 5.6 runs per game and have a team ERA of 5.61 in 162 innings with 189 strikeouts.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. WINONA STATE
•SMSU and WSU have meet 180 times since the first meeting in 1970 with WSU holding a 120-60 all-time advantage.
•WSU has won the past four games, including sweeping a three-game series on March 22-23, 2019, in Mauston, Wis.
•The teams split a four-game series in Winona State during the 2018 season.
•This will be WSU's first games in Marshall since April 9, 2014.  
 
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 542-517-2, including 309-288 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 won its first NSIC series of the season last weekend taking two of three from Concordia-St. Paul at Legion Field.
•This past Tuesday, SMSU lost pair of games to No. 19 Minnesota State, 4-2 and 4-0.
•In game one on Tuesday, SMSU out-hit MSU 9-6, with Chase McDaniel recording his first three-hit game of his career for the Mustangs.
•Nathan Kuhn had the lone RBI in the game for the Mustangs with a single to score Brodie Smith.
•Teddy Broxterman tossed four shutout innings of relief in game one.
•In game two, SMSU was limited to four hits in being shutout for the first time this season.
•Game two was called after seven and a half innings due to weather.
•The SMSU bullpen allowed just two hits in 4 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and no walks.
•The SMSU pitching staff did not walk a batter in game two. It's the first time this season the Mustang pitching did not walk a batter in a game.
•John Bezdicek is now in fifth place in team history with 181 strikeouts. Pat O'Brien (2002-05) and Ryan Morse (2003-05) are tied for third all-time with 190.
 
SMSU SEASON NUMBERS
•Through 16 games, SMSU is averaging 5.1 runs per game, batting .268 with 19 doubles and seven home runs.
•The SMSU pitching staff has a 5.28 ERA in 121 innings with 120 strikeouts.
•Nathan Kuhn is batting a team-high .490 (24 of 49) with a team-high five doubles and team-leading 29 total bases. He has a team-high eight multi-hit games and has collected at least one hit in 13 of 15 games played.
•Matt Bezdicek is hitting .327 (16 of 49) with three doubles, two home runs and has a team-high 15 RBIs. He leads the team with five multi-RBI games.
•Kip Gronholz and Matt Bezdicek each have five multi-hit games.
•Brodie Smith is batting .255 (12 for 47) with two doubles, one home run and 11 RBIs.
•Jake Hendricks has two home runs, eight RBIs and is hitting .245 (12 of 49).
•John Bezdicek has pitched a team-high 21 2/3 innings with a team-high 34 strikeouts. He is 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA with one shutout and two complete games.
•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 six games, has a 3.00 ERA and is third on the squad with 11 strikeouts.
•Jared Tschetter has appeared in five games and has one win, two saves with a 0.00 ERA in 4 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 (11.5) and fifth in strikeouts (181).
•Teddy Broxterman is tied for sixth in saves (6).
•Shawn Williams ranks sixth in appearances (47).
 
BEZDICEK EARNS 2020 ACADEMIC HONOR
•John Bezdicek was named CoSIDA Academic All-District following the 2020 season.
 
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 2,075 games compiling an all-time record of 972-1,100-3.
•SMSU has won four NSIC regular season championships, four NSIC Tournament titles and has played in one NCAA Tournament.