MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (27-12, 19-10 NSIC) concludes the regular season this Friday and Saturday hosting the University of Minnesota Crookston (33-18, 23-10 NSIC) in a three-game series at Legion Field in Marshall. Friday's doubleheader will begin at 1:30 p.m. with Saturday's single game beginning at 12 p.m.
SMSU, which was picked to finish 14
th in the NSIC and opened league play with five straight losses, is currently in fifth place in the NSIC standings, while UMC is in fourth place. The Mustangs have won six straight games and 12 of its last 14 games to clinch a spot in the eight-team NSIC Tournament on May 10-13 in Bismarck and Mandan, North Dakota.
The NSIC Tournament bracket will be announced on Saturday evening. SMSU can't finish any worse than fifth in the final conference standings and can only move to fourth with a sweep of UMC. SMSU could move as high as third or second place, but would need to sweep this weekend and have both St. Cloud State and Minnesota State lose three games.
SMSU's 27 victories (just the 11
th time reaching 27 wins in program history) is the program's highest since winning 27 in 2014. It was also the last time SMSU qualified for the NSIC Tournament.
UMC leads the NSIC (conference games only) in team batting average (.322) and is first in home runs (57).
GAME COVERAGE
•Live stats and video for all three games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
SENIOR DAY ON SATURDAY
•SMSU will honor its four seniors,
Jackson Bates,
Craig Lasley,
Robbie Smith and
Keenan Wenzel, in a pre-game ceremony on Saturday.
FINAL HOME GAMES FOR BLANCHARD
•This weekend are the final home games for SMSU head coach,
Paul Blanchard, who is retiring after the season. A 'retirement celebration' will be held on Saturday following the game at the Marshall Golf Club starting at 3 p.m.
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 591-568-2, including 343-332 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. MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
•SMSU and UMC have meet 61 times since the 2000 season with SMSU holding a 52-9 all-time advantage.
•SMSU leads the series 9-6 since the 2017 season, including winning two of three last season in Marshall on April 23-24.
MUSTANG EXTRA BASES
•SMSU is averaging eight runs per game and batting .319.
•
Chase McDaniel is batting a team-high .390 with a team-leading 62 hits and a team-high 23 multi-hit games. He also is the team leader in both doubles (10) and stolen bases (10). In 29 league games, McDaniel is ninth in the conference batting .383.
•
Jaxon Haase leads the club with 10 home runs, is tied for second with nine doubles and ranks third with 35 RBIs. He tied a school single-game record on April 26 with five runs scored versus Minnesota Duluth.
•
Keenan Wenzel is batting .384 in 28 games with 38 hits, including eight doubles, three home runs and 24 RBIs.
•
Isaac Nett is hitting .336, while ranking second with eight home runs and third with 36 RBIs. He is tied for the team lead with 11 multi-RBI games.
•
Owen Latendresse ranks tied for first on the squad with 11 multi-RBI games and is first on the team with 38 RBIs, while batting .340.
•
Max Kalenberg has tied two school single-game records this season. He walked four times versus Northern State on April 30 and also tied a school record with five runs scored in a win over Dakota Wesleyan on March 6. Kalenberg has nine doubles, four home runs and 34 RBIs, while hitting .305.
•
Jake Tauer finished 4 for 4 with seven RBIs in the May 2 win at Minot State. He is the first SMSU player since Ben Heichel in 2020 to collect seven RBIs. He is hitting .273 with two doubles, two home runs and 18 RBIs.
•
Peyton Nash is hitting .311 with seven doubles, 25 RBIs and has nine multi-RBI games.
•
Robbie Smith has missed the last 10 games with an injury, but has four triples, 10 hit by pitches and has walked 10 times in 28 games. He tied a program single-game record with four walks in a win over Sioux Falls on March 29.
•SMSU opened the season winning eight of 10 games at the Tucson Invitational from March 4-13. The 8-2 start following 10 games was the program's best since beginning the 2009 season with a 9-1 record.
•SMSU's victory on March 10 versus Malone (Ohio) was the 1,000th in program history.
NOTES FROM THE BUMP
•SMSU has a team ERA of 5.30 in 314 innings with 298 strikeouts with opponents averaging 5.9 runs per game and batting .283.
•
Ansen Dulas (3-1) has a 2.89 ERA in 46 2/3 innings in eight starts with 32 strikeouts and seven walks. Dulas' 1.35 walks per nine innings ranks third in team single-season history and currently ranks 17
th in Division II (May 2).
•
Brady Brosz has a 3.55 ERA in 12 2/3 innings with 14 strikeouts, one victory and four saves.
•
Kolby Kiser (4-1) leads the team with 65 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings. He has struck out a career-high 10 in three games this season. Kiser's 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings ranks second in team single-season history and 10
th in Division II (May 2).
•
Ryan Chmielewski (4-1) is second on the team with 48 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings and a 3.66 ERA.
•
Kobe Lovell has appeared in team-high tying 10 games and is 1-0 with one save, while recording a 3.12 ERA in 17 1/3 innings.
•
Carter Petron is 3-2 with a 5.97 ERA in 34 2/3 innings with 22 strikeouts.
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Jackson Bates earned his first career save at Minot State on May 2. He has pitched in three games and has recorded 10 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.
•
Owen Latendresse has pitched in three games and is 1-0 with one save and a 1.69 ERA in 5 1/3 innings.
•SMSU has used 18 pitchers this season.
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 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.
SMSU PICKED 14TH IN NSIC POLL
•Southwest Minnesota State University was picked to finish 15th 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 2,175 games compiling an all-time record of 1,021-1,151-3.
•SMSU has won four NSIC regular season championships, four NSIC Tournament titles and has played in one NCAA Tournament.
