MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (27-15) returns to the diamond on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the eight-team, double elimination Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament played in both Bismarck, N.D., and Mandan, N.D.
     SMSU, the No. 5 seed, will take on No. 4 seed, St. Cloud State University (28-17) at 12 p.m. on Wednesday in Bismarck at the Municipal Ballpark at Dakota Community Bank & Trust Field. If SMSU wins on Wednesday they'll play at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in Bismarck, while a loss on Wednesday would put the Mustangs in the losers' bracket with a 12 p.m. game in Mandan. SMSU will play either No. 1 Augustana or No. 8 Wayne State on Thursday.
     SMSU, which was picked to finish 14^th in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll, will be making its first appearance in the tournament since the 2014 season.  
     The winner of the NSIC Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The 39-team NCAA Central Region is made up of teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis.
     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.
 
            GAME COVERAGE
•Live stats and video for all games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
•All SMSU games will air live on 107.5 The Fan in Marshall and at MarshallRadio.net. Kelly Loft, SMSU Assistant AD for Communications, will handle the play-by-play.
 
            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 591-571-2, including 343-335 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 and 16 appearances in the NSIC Tournament (including 2023)
•Blanchard's teams have won 25 or more games 13 times (including 2023), which includes four 30-plus wins 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, 25 all-region honorees, two Academic All-Americans, one NCAA All-American and two Major League Baseball draft picks.
 
            SMSU ALL-TIME AT THE NSIC TOURNAMENT
•SMSU is playing in the NSIC Tournament for the first time since the 2014 season.
•SMSU has won four NSIC Tournament championships (1996, 1997, 1999, 2002), including three under head coach, Paul Blanchard. SMSU has finished as tournament runner-up on four occasions (1998, 2000, 2005, 2010).
 
            SERIES HISTORY VS. ST. CLOUD STATE
•SMSU and SCSU have meet 82 times since the 1970 season with SCSU holding a 63-19 all-time advantage.
•SCSU defeated SMSU twice earlier this season in Elkorn, Neb., by scores of 6-3 and 4-1. The Huskies have held a 23-4 lead in the series since joining the NSIC in 2009 and have won 20 of the last 22 meetings since the 2015 season.
•The two teams have played just once in the NSIC Tournament with SMSU earning a 5-3 in 2010.
 
            MUSTANG EXTRA BASES
•SMSU is averaging 7.7 runs per game and batting .313.
•SMSU's six-game winning streak from April 26-May 2, was its longest since winning seven in a row during the 2014 season.
•Chase McDaniel is batting a team-high .388 with a team-leading 66 hits and a team-high 24 multi-hit games. He also is the team leader in both doubles (11) and stolen bases (10). •McDaniel's 66 hits this season rank tied for fifth in team single-season history. Colby Pack (2005) holds the single-season record with 70 hits. He also ranks tied for 11^th in team single-season history with 50 runs scored.
•In 32 league games, McDaniel finished ninth in the NSIC in batting average (.382), eighth in hits (50) and 10^th in runs scored (39).
•Jaxon Haase leads the club with 10 home runs, is tied for second with nine doubles and ranks tied for third with 36 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. He has missed the last four games due to an injury.
•Isaac Nett is hitting .336, while ranking second with eight home runs, second with 37 RBIs and second with 12 multi-RBI games. Nett finished ninth in the NSIC in on-base pct. (.470)
•Owen Latendresse ranks first on the squad with 12 multi-RBI games and is first with 41 RBIs, while batting .333.
•Max Kalenberg enters the tournament having reached base in 27 straight games. He is the first SMSU player since Brandan Alfson in 2015, to reach base in 25 or more games.
•Kalenberg has tied two school single-game records this season having 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, five home runs and 36 RBIs, while hitting .304 on the season.
•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 .266 with two doubles, two home runs and 18 RBIs.
•Peyton Nash is hitting .303 with seven doubles, 25 RBIs and nine multi-RBI games.
•Robbie Smith missed 11 of the last 13 games with an injury, but has four triples, 11 hit by pitches and has walked 11 times in 30 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 6.07 in 338 innings with 314 strikeouts with opponents averaging 6.6 runs per game and batting .295.
•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 13^th in Division II (May 7).
•Kolby Kiser (4-1) leads the team with 65 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings. The strikeout total ranks seventh in team single-season history and is the highest total since Adam Schrader had 62 in 2010. 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 seventh in Division II (May 7).
•Ryan Chmielewski (4-1) is second on the team with 48 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings and a 3.66 ERA.
•Brady Brosz has a 3.55 ERA in 12 2/3 innings with 14 strikeouts, one victory and four saves.
•Carter Petron is 3-2 in seven starts with a 5.97 ERA in 34 2/3 innings with 22 strikeouts.
•Kobe Lovell has appeared in team-high tying 11 games and is 1-1 with one save, while recording a 5.40 ERA in 18 1/3 innings.
•Jackson Bates earned his first career save at Minot State on May 2. He has pitched in four games (one start) and has recorded 15 strikeouts in 12 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 2,178 games compiling an all-time record of 1,021-1,154-3.
•SMSU has won four NSIC regular season championships, four NSIC Tournament titles and has played in one NCAA Tournament.