PREVIEWING THIS WEEKEND
•The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (8-6, 3-5 NSIC) returns to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this Friday and Saturday with a four-game series versus Bemidji State University (1-13, 0-8 NSIC) in Brandon, S.D.
•The teams will play doubleheaders each day starting at 1 p.m. at Aspen Park.  
•The four-game series was originally scheduled to be played in Marshall but was moved due to field conditions. 
•Following this weekend's games, SMSU will play a non-conference game at Division I South Dakota State on Wednesday, March 26. The Mustangs return to conference play on March 29-30 with a four-game series at Minot State. 

            GAME COVERAGE
•Live stats and video for all four games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
 
SMSU HEAD COACH
•Jeremy Ische, the sixth head coach in team history, is in his second season with a record of 35-29. He was named to the position on June 15, 2023.
•SMSU finished 27-23 overall in 2024 and placed sixth in the NSIC at 20-19. SMSU won its opening game at the NSIC tournament, earning the program's first conference tournament victory since the 2014 season.
•Prior to SMSU, Ische spent five seasons (2019-23) as head coach at Upper Iowa University compiling a record of 57-125. 
•UIU had its best season under Ische in 2023, finishing with a 19-27 record, including 15-19 in NSIC play.
•He was an assistant coach at UIU for two seasons (2017-18) prior to becoming head coach.
•Ische was also an assistant coach at Luther College (2015-16), SMSU (2013-14) and St. Cloud Tech (2012).
 
            SERIES HISTORY VS. BEMIDJI STATE
•SMSU is 117-66 all-time versus BSU winning the previous 11 games and 17 of the last 19 since the 2018 season.
•SMSU swept a four-game series last season winning 17-0 and 15-1 in Sioux Falls, S.D., and 13-4 and 8-6 in Brandon, S.D.
•BSU's last victory in the series came on April 18, 2021, in Marshall.
•SMSU has not played in Bemidji since the 2016 season.
 
SMSU NOTES
•As a team, the Mustangs are batting .260 and scoring 5.8 runs per game to date. SMSU pitchers are carrying a 3.76 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 110 innings of work. The Mustangs have made 19 errors in 478 total chances (.960 fielding pct.).
•Freshman Jared Cortez is batting a team-high .375.
•Junior Levi Lampert has reached base in all 14 games and is batting .362 with a team-leading 17 hits. He has collected a team-high four doubles and has walked a team-high 12 times.
•Junior Tyler Froland has belted a team-high five home runs.
•Junior Cory Bantam leads the club with 12 RBIs and is batting .275.
•Junior Henry Hammrich has hit four home runs and is second on the team with 11 RBIs.
•Senior Ryan Chmielewski is 2-1 in three starts with a 3.10 ERA collecting 21 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings.
•Senior Carter Petron has a 0.56 ERA in 16 innings with 18 strikeouts. He is 2-1 in three starts, including earning the win last Sunday night tossing six shutout innings versus St. Cloud State.
•Senior Jerod Cyrus has pitched in four games and has not allowed a run in 10 1/3 innings with six strikeouts.
•Senior Bennett Knapper has appeared in a team-high five games and has allowed zero earned runs in 6 1/3 innings.
 
            SMSU IN THE NCAA STATS
•In the NCAA statistics (March 19), the SMSU pitching staff ranks 13^th in ERA (3.76), 14^th in WHIP (1.31) and 17^th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.1).
•Carter Petron ranks third in ERA (0.56) and 22^nd in hits allowed per nine innings (5.6).
•Ryan Chmielewski ranks 39^th in hit allowed per nine innings (6.2).
•Levi Lampert ranks 16^th in toughest to strike out (23.5).
•Tyler Froland ranks 20^th in home runs per game (0.42).
 
            SMSU PICKED NINTH IN NSIC POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish fifth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•SMSU senior outfielder/pitcher Owen Latendresse and senior right-handed relief pitcher Cameron Jensen were both named 'Players to Watch' this season.
 
NSIC SCHEDULE
•The 14-team NSIC schedule will have feature a variety of four-game, three-game and two-game series during the season.
•The schedule format allows for each team to play every opponent at least twice during the regular season.
•SMSU will play five four-game series (SCSU, UMD, BSU, MISU, CSP), four three-game series (UMC, WSU, UMary, MSU) and doubleheaders versus (WSC, NSU, AU, USF).
•All weekday match-ups will be doubleheaders with one seven-inning game and one nine-inning game.
•SMSU is scheduled to play 40 conference games this season.
 
             MORE MUSTANG STATS
•For career statistics and game-highs for each Mustang player go to SMSUmustangs.com/baseballcareer.
 
             NSIC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO SOUTH DAKOTA
•The 2025 NSIC Tournament will be held on May 7-10 and hosted by the University of Sioux Falls and Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.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.
 
            MUSTANG HISTORY
•SMSU is in its 56^th season of baseball in 2025.
•SMSU has played 2,245 games compiling a record of 1,056-1,186-3.
•SMSU has won four NSIC regular season championships, four NSIC tournament titles and has played in one NCAA tournament.