PREVIEWING THIS WEEKEND
•The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (8-18, 1-13 NSIC) continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Friday and Saturday with a three-game series versus St. Cloud State University (20-10, 12-4 NSIC) at Aspen Park in Brandon, S.D.
•The games were scheduled to be played at Faber Field in St. Cloud, but were moved due to poor weather and field conditions. SCSU will serve as the 'home' team for all three games.
•SMSU has now had four three-game series or doubleheaders relocated and two doubleheaders canceled this spring.
 
            GAME COVERAGE
•Live stats for all three games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com. There will no video for the series.
 
            SERIES HISTORY VS. ST. CLOUD STATE
•SMSU and SCSU have met 77 times since the first meeting in 1970 with SCSU holding a 58-19 all-time advantage.
•Both schools were members of the same conference from 1970 to 1981 (NIC) and once again since 2009 (NSIC).
•SCSU has won 13 of the last 15 games since the 2015 season. SCSU won two of three from SMSU in Marshall during their last meeting to conclude the 2019 season.
 
SMSU HEAD COACH
•Paul Blanchard, the all-time leader in victories at SMSU, is in his 26^th season as head coach and has an overall record of 555-548-2, including 315-314 in conference play.
•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 SEASON NUMBERS
•Through 26 games, SMSU is averaging 5.1 runs per game, batting .287 with 41 doubles, eight triples and 14 home runs.
•The SMSU pitching staff has an 8.74 ERA in 196 2/3 innings with 172 strikeouts.
•Sophomore Isaac Nett is hitting .361 with four doubles and three home runs with a team-leading 19 RBIs. He leads the club with six stolen bases and earlier this season had an 11-game hitting streak. He ranks tied for third on the club with eight multi-hit games.
•Sophomore Chase McDaniel is batting a .337 with three doubles, one triple and five stolen bases. He has a team-leading 10 multi-hit games.
•Sophomore Jaxon Haase is batting .337 with five doubles, two home runs and is second on the team with 18 RBIs. He reached base in a team-leading 16 straight games earlier this season. He hit the first two home runs of his career last week versus Minnesota State and Augustana.  
 
•Freshman Owen Latendresse has belted a team-high five home runs, ranks third on the team with 17 RBIs and is hitting .299 with nine multi-hit games.
•Junior Keenan Wenzel is tied for the team-lead with five doubles and his batting .349.
•Sophomore left-hander Kobe Lovell is 1-0 in seven relief appearances with a 4.05 ERA in 13 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts.
•Senior right-hander Andy Andresen has appeared in seven games and has a 3.00 ERA in six innings with one save.
•Freshman lefty Ryan Chmielewski is tied for the team-lead with seven starts and has two victories in a team-high 36 innings with 24 strikeouts.
•Sophomore righty Kolby Kiser has also made seven starts and leads the team with 36 strikeouts in 31 innings.
 
NCAA STATISTICS
•In the latest NCAA statistics (April 13), Isaac Nett ranks 44^th in toughest to strikeout at (11.9).
 
          MORE MUSTANG STATS
•For career statistics and single-game highs for each Mustang player go to SMSUmustangs.com/baseballcareer.
 
            SMSU PICKED 15TH IN NSIC POLL
•Southwest Minnesota State University was picked to finish 15^th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•Mustang freshman Ryan Chmielewski was named a "Pitcher to Watch", while sophomore shortstop Chase McDaniel was named a "Player to Watch" in the NSIC this spring.
 
            MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 53^rd season of baseball in 2021.
•SMSU has played 2,119 games compiling an all-time record of 985-1,131-3.
•SMSU has won four NSIC regular season championships, four NSIC Tournament titles and has played in one NCAA Tournament.
 
ABOUT ST. CLOUD STATE
•SCSU is 20-10 overall, 12-4 NSIC, and has won 11 of its last 12 games. The Huskies swept a three-game series versus Concordia-St. Paul last weekend and beat Upper Iowa twice on Wednesday.
•Pat Dolan is in his 15^th season as head coach of the Huskies.
•Through 30 games, SCSU is batting .296, averaging 7.0 runs per game and have a team ERA of 4.38 in 236 1/3 innings with 256 strikeouts.