LEADING OFF
•The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (8-2) opens Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this Sunday and Monday with a three-game series versus Augustana University (11-9). 
•The series, originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Sioux Falls, S.D., will now be played with a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 1:30 p.m. in Omaha, Neb., at Creighton Prep. The series will conclude on Monday with an 11 a.m. game played in Council Bluffs, Iowa, at Iowa Western Community College.
•SMSU opened the season winning eight of 10 games at the Tucson Invitational from March 4-13. The 8-2 start following 10 games is the program's best since beginning the 2009 season with a 9-1 record.
•SMSU finished the 10 games averaging 9.9 runs per game, while batting .357 with 24 doubles, nine triples and five home runs.
•The SMSU pitching staff has a 5.59 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 87 innings.
•Augustana, picked second in the preseason NSIC Coaches' Poll, has made four straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
•SMSU's victory on March 10 versus Malone (Ohio) was the 1,000^th in program history.
 
               GAME COVERAGE
•Live stats for all three games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
 
                SMSU HEAD COACH
•Paul Blanchard, the all-time leader in victories at SMSU, is in his 27th and final season as head coach and has an overall record of 572-558-2, including 324-322 in conference play.
•On Feb. 19, Blanchard announced he will retire from coaching following the conclusion of the 2023 season.
•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.
 
            SERIES HISTORY VS. AUGUSTANA
•SMSU and AU have meet 108 times since the 1980 season with AU holding a 62-46 all-time advantage.
•AU holds a 28-5 advantage in the series since the 2012 season, including sweeping a three-game series last season in Sioux Falls.
 
               MUSTANG EXTRA BASES
•Keenan Wenzel batted .552 in seven games, tying for the team-lead with 16 hits with three doubles and 12 RBIs. Wenzel had six RBIs in a win over Dakota Wesleyan becoming the first SMSU player since 2020 to drive in six runs.
•Chase McDaniel started nine games, collecting a hit in each game, while batting .410 with 16 hits.
•Wenzel and McDaniel both finished the week with six multi-hit games.
•Peyton Nash hit .478 in six games with five doubles and collected four multi-RBI games.
•Owen Latendresse also had four multi-RBI games and led the team with 15 RBIs, while batting .310.
•Jaxon Haase clubbed a team-high three home runs and drove in 14 runs.
•Robbie Smith closed the week with four triples, six hit by pitches and walked five times, while batting .361. Smith tied a school single-game record with two triples versus Malone on March 10.
•Isaac Nett ranks fourth on the team with 14 hits.
•Max Kalenberg had four hits and tied a school record with five runs scored in a win over Dakota Wesleyan on March 6. He is the eighth Mustang all-time and the first since the 2004 season to score five runs in a game.
 
                NOTES FROM THE BUMP
•Ansen Dulas has a 0.00 ERA in 14 innings allowing just one unearned run in two starts. He has struck out 13, while walking three, hitting three batters and allowing three hits.
•Shay Endres tossed 6 1/3 innings to earn his first career victory versus Bemidji State on March 7. He allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts.
•Brady Brosz allowed one run in three innings and secured two saves with five strikeouts.
•Kolby Kiser earned the win versus Dickinson State on March 13, while recording a career-high 10 strikeouts. He leads the team with 17 strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings.
•Ryan Chimelewski is third on the team with 10 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings.
•Theo Giedd, Will Baldus, Brady Petron, Carter Petron and Endres all earned their first career victories during the week.
•SMSU used 17 pitchers during the 10 games.
 
            DULAS EARNS NCBWA REGION WEEKLY HONOR
•Dulas allowed just one hit over seven innings in a 7-0 win over Concordia-St. Paul on March 10. He struck out seven batters and retired 13 straight hitters from the second through sixth innings. He faced just one batter over the minimum in his seven innings of work, while firing just 80 pitches, including 52 for strikes.
 
            DULAS & WENZEL HONORED BY NSIC; DULAS ALSO PICKS UP NCBWA WEEKLY AWARD
•SMSU senior second baseman Keenan Wenzel and junior right-handed pitcher Ansen Dulas were named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, on Monday, March 13.
•Wenzel batted .625 with 10 hits in 16 at bats in four games, with two doubles, a triple, and nine RBI. He finished with 14 total bases, adding a pair of walks and a hit by pitch. He compiled a .684 on base percentage and .875 slugging percentage.
•Dulas allowed just one hit over seven innings in a 7-0 win over Concordia-St. Paul on March 10. He struck out seven batters and retired 13 straight hitters from the second through sixth innings. He faced just one batter over the minimum in his seven innings of work, while firing just 80 pitches, including 52 for strikes.
•Dulas was also named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Central Region Pitcher of the Week on March 15.
 
               MORE MUSTANG STATS
•For career statistics and game-highs for each Mustang player go to SMSUmustangs.com/baseballcareer.
 
                NSIC SCHEDULE
•For the fifth 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 35 conference games starting on March 19-20 versus Augustana.
 
            NSIC TOURNAMENT MOVES TO NORTH DAKOTA
•The 2023 NSIC Tournament will be held on May 10-13 and hosted by the University of Mary at Veterans Memorial/Municipal Ballparks, in Mandan and Bismarck, N.D.
•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 15TH IN NSIC POLL
•Southwest Minnesota State University was picked to finish 14th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•SMSU junior outfielder Isaac Nett and sophomore left-handed pitcher Ryan Chmielewski were both named "Players to Watch" in the conference this season.
 
            MUSTANG HISTORY
•Southwest Minnesota State is in its 54th season of baseball in 2023.
•SMSU has played 2,146 games compiling an all-time record of 1,002-1,141-3.
•SMSU has won four NSIC regular season championships, four NSIC Tournament titles and has played in one NCAA Tournament.