PREVIEWING THIS WEEKEND
•The Southwest Minnesota State University (15-18, 5-16 NSIC) baseball team returns home on Saturday and Sunday with a three-game Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference series versus nationally ranked and conference leading Minnesota State University (23-7, 16-2 NSIC) at Legion Field in Marshall.
•The teams will play a doubleheader (7-9) on Saturday starting at 4 p.m. with a single nine-inning games on Sunday starting at 1:30 p.m.
•MSU is ranked No. 28 in this week's ABCA Top 30 poll. The Mavericks are ranked No. 6 in this week's NCBWA Central Region poll.
•Following the games this weekend, SMSU is scheduled to host Winona State on April 15 and Jamestown on April 18-19.
GAME COVERAGE
•Live stats and video for all three games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
SMSU HEAD COACH
•
Jeremy Ische, the sixth head coach in team history, is in his third season with a record of 65-66. He was named to the position on June 15, 2023.
•SMSU finished 27-23 overall and placed sixth in the NSIC at 20-19 during his first season as head coach in 2024. 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.
•In seven seasons as a head coach he has a career record of 122-191.
•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. MINNESOTA STATE
•SMSU is 11-75 all-time versus MSU with the first game played in 1973.
•MSU won all three games played last season in Mankato to close the regular season.
•SMSU's walk-off victory on May 4, 2024, in Marshall snapped an 18-game losing streak in the series dating back to 2014.
•MSU has won 41 of the last 43 meetings since SMSU defeated MSU in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Central Region tournament in Grand Junction, Colo.
SMSU NOTES
•As a team, the Mustangs are batting .301, while scoring 7.4 runs per game. SMSU pitchers have recorded a 5.64 ERA with 200 strikeouts in 252 innings. The Mustangs have committed 35 errors in 1,098 total chances (.968 fielding pct.).
•In NSIC play, seven of SMSU's 16 losses have come with its opponent scoring in its last at bat.
•SMSU's eight-game winning streak earlier this season was the program's longest since the 2010 season.
•Senior
Levi Lampert had a 64-game on-base streak come to an end on March 10 versus Concordia-St. Paul. Lampert reached base safely in all 47 games last season and the first 17 games this spring.
•Lampert is batting .395 with 10 doubles and team-leading six home runs. He is tied for the team lead with 17 multi-hit games and had a team-high 15-game hitting streak earlier this season.
•Sophomore
Jared Cortez is batting a team-high .419 with a team-high 12 doubles, while ranking on the team with 29 RBIs. He is tied with Lampert with 17 multi-hit games.
•Redshirt freshman
Tanner Rezny is hitting .357 with three doubles, three home runs and 19 RBIs, but is out for the remainder of the season with an injury.
•Junior
Connor Davis has four home runs, a team-leading 34 RBIs, is batting .349 and leads the squad with 11 multi-RBI games.
•Senior
Henry Hammrich has a team-high eight stolen bases and is hitting .278 with seven doubles, three home runs and two triples.
•Junior
Cody Wichmann has a 5.18 ERA in 41 2/3 innings with 32 strikeouts compiling a 2-1 record in seven starts.
•Sophomore
Jameson Quinn is 2-3 with a 6.17 ERA in eight starts with a team-high 35 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings.
•Freshman
Tad Tjaden has recorded 31 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings.
•Junior
Ryan Bell has made nine starts and is 4-3 with a 5.76 ERA in 45 1/3 innings.
•Redshirt freshman
Ryan Dalager and sophomore
Austin Dent have both made a team-high 11 appearances out of the bullpen, while junior
Lincoln Vasgaard has made 10 appearances in relief.
SMSU IN THE NCAA STATS
•As of April 8, SMSU pitching ranks fifth in Division II in walks allowed per nine innings (3.14) and 20
th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.27).
•
Jared Cortez ranks 49
th in batting average (.419).
•
Ryan Bell ranks sixth in walks per nine innings (1.19) and 26
th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.67).
MSU NOTES
•As of April 8, MSU pitching ranks third in Division II in hits allowed per nine innings (7.46), seventh in WHIP (1.26), 15th in ERA (4.16). The MSU offense ranks 19th in slugging pct. (.536).
WICHMANN EARNS WEEKLY AWARDS
•Junior pitcher
Cody Wichmann was named the NSIC Pitcher of the Week and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Region Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 25.
•Wichmann fired a nine-inning complete game, allowing just six hits and one unearned run with six strikeouts and one walk in SMSU's 5-1 victory over Minot State on Feb. 23. He carried a shutout into the ninth and finished the game tossing 100 pitches with 72 for strikes. He faced three or four MSU batters in seven of the nine innings.
SMSU PICKED NINTH IN NSIC POLL
•SMSU was picked to finish ninth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
•SMSU senior outfielder
Levi Lampert and sophomore right-handed pitcher
Jameson Quinn were both named 'Players to Watch' this season.
NSIC SCHEDULE
•The 15-team NSIC schedule will have feature a variety of three-game series and doubleheaders during the season.
•The schedule format allows for each team to play every opponent at least twice during the regular season.
•SMSU will play nine three-game series (UMC, MISU, CSP, UMARY, SCSU, NSU, MSU, UJ, UMD) and doubleheaders versus (BSU, USF, WSU, WSC, AU).
•All matchups 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.
