Independent file photo SMSU’s Justin Clark delivers a pitch during their April 24, 2017 game against the University of Mary. The Mustangs will face Upper Iowa University today.

MARSHALL – The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (11-19, 6-14 NSIC) continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play today with a doubleheader at Upper Iowa University (12-17, 10-13 NSIC) starting at 1 p.m. at Robertson Woods Field in Fayette.

•SMSU is coming off a four-game road split versus Winona State last Saturday and Sunday.

•The four games played at Winona State were the first by SMSU in the state of Minnesota this season.

•SMSU begins play today in 12th place in the NSIC standings, while UIU is currently in 10th place. The top eight teams advance to the NSIC Tournament in May held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

GAME COVERAGE

•Live statistics for today’s games will be available at smsumustangs.com.

•Updates can also be found by following @smsubaseball on Twitter.

SERIES HISTORY

•UIU holds a slight 22-21 all-time advantage versus SMSU in a series that started in 2005.

•UIU won both games last season in Fayette, 7-0 and 10-0.

•The two teams split a four-game series in Marshall in 2016.

•The two teams have split the last 16 meetings since the 2012 season.

•SMSU head coach Paul Blanchard is 21-22 all-time versus UIU.

MUSTANG

NOTABLES

•SMSU is hitting .274 with 15 home runs and 52 doubles.

•SMSU has an ERA of 5.36 with 220 strikeouts in 236 2/3 innings.

•SMSU has a .959 fielding percentage.

•SMSU is 3-8 in one-run games.

•SMSU is 7-2 when leading after six innings and 4-2 when leading after eight innings.

•SMSU has four players with at least 50 at bats hitting .300 or better.

•Junior Connor Johnson’s three-run, walk-off home run at Winona State on April 22, was the program’s first walk-off homer since Patrick Rients in 2014.

•Senior Shane Sellner leads the team with a .355 batting average with eight doubles, one home run and 16 RBIs.

•Junior Jayden Fleck has a team-leading 27 RBIs with seven doubles and a team-high six home runs.

•Sophomore Ben Heichel has recorded a team-high 10 doubles with three home runs and 21 RBIs.

•Fleck and Sellner lead the team with 12 multi-hit games, while Fleck has a team-leading seven multi-RBI games.

•Sellner and Heichel both had 10-game hitting streaks this season, which are the longest on the team this season.

•Sophomore Tanner Strommen cracked his first career home run at Winona State last Sunday.

•Freshman Jake Hendricks belted his first career home run in the loss to Minnesota Duluth on April 5.

•Senior Josh Cook has a 1-1 record in eight relief appearances with 11 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings.

•Freshman left-hander John Bezdicek is 2-3 on the season with one complete game and has compiled a 3.64 ERA in 42 innings. He has recorded a team-leading 51 strikeouts while opponents are hitting .226.

•Alex Jorgensen has a team-high 11 relief appearances and has a 3.00 ERA in 21 innings with a 2-2 record and one save.

•Chase Meyer, who leads the team with three victories, recorded a career-high six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of relief to earn the victory vs. Concordia-St. Paul on March 30.

NEXT UP

•Southwest Minnesota State will play a four-game series at Minnesota Crookston on Saturday and Sunday.

Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications