PREVIEWING THIS WEEK
•The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (23-19, 18-17 NSIC) plays its final five games of the regular season this week with five Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games at the University of Sioux Falls and Minnesota State University.
•SMSU will take on USF (25-25, 21-14 NSIC) on Tuesday for a doubleheader beginning at 1:30 p.m. at Sioux Falls Stadium in Sioux Falls, S.D.
•SMSU will then close the regular season with a three-game series at NSIC regular season champion, MSU (39-5, 31-4 NSIC), on Friday and Saturday at Bowyer Field in Mankato. Friday's doubleheader starts at 1:30 p.m. with Saturday's game at 12 p.m.
•SMSU opens the week in a three-way tie for sixth place in the league standings. USF is fourth place in the league, while MSU clinched the regular season title after defeating Augustana on Sunday.
•The top eight teams in the regular season standings qualify for the NSIC tournament starting on May 7 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
SMSU LAST TIME OUT
•SMSU lost two of three games at home to the University of Mary this past Saturday and Sunday.
•SMSU opened with a 7-2 victory on Saturday with Ryan Chmielewski tossing a seven-inning complete game six-hitter with six strikeouts and no walks.
•SMSU suffered a 12-9 loss in game two of the series on Saturday before losing 18-13 in game three on Sunday.
 
            GAME COVERAGE
•Live stats and video for all five 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 50-42. 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. SIOUX FALLS
•SMSU is 18-14 all-time versus Sioux Falls with the first game played in 1972.
•USF is 13-10 all-time since joining the NSIC in 2013.
•The teams have split a doubleheader the past two seasons and nine times out of the last 10 twinbills.