SMSU BASEBALL: SMSU opens NSIC play with three games at Upper Iowa
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MARSHALL -- The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (1-1) opens Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play today and Sunday with a three-game series versus Upper Iowa University (1-3) at Robertson Woods Field in Fayette, Iowa.
•Today's doubleheader is set to begin at 12 p.m., while Sunday's game will start at 12 p.m.
•For the third straight season, the first day of a weekend conference series will feature one seven and one nine-inning game, while the final day will feature one nine-inning game.
•Following this weekend's series, SMSU will play at Augustana for a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 24.
Game coverage
•Live video and stats for the series will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.
About Upper Iowa
•Upper Iowa, picked 14th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, is 1-3 on the season following a four-game series at Rockhurst (Mo.) on March 5-7.
•UIU third-year head coach Jeremy Ische was an assistant coach at SMSU for two seasons from 2013-14.
•Alex Green leads the Peacocks batting .571 with eight hits and six RBIs. Noah Gyldenvand is hitting .400 with four hits and three walks.
•Through four games, UIU is batting .289, averaging 5.5 runs per game and have a team ERA of 8.13.
Series history
vs. Upper Iowa
•SMSU and UIU have meet 48 times since the 2005 season with UIU holding a 25-23 all-time advantage.
•The two clubs last met in 2019, with SMSU taking two of three from UIU in Fayette.
•The last seven games have all been played in Fayette.
SMSU
diamond notes
•SMSU opened the season on March 10 splitting a doubleheader at Briar Cliff (Iowa), losing the first game, 3-2, before bouncing back with an 8-3 victory in the nightcap.
•SMSU had 10 players make their collegiate debuts in the two games.
•SMSU used 11 pitchers in the two games while many of the position players got at least one at bat.
•In the opener, SMSU held a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh, but the Chargers used a two-out rally to score two runs and earn the walk-off victory.
•Matt Bezdicek drilled a home run in the second inning in game one, while Brodie Smith drove in a run with a ground out in the third, to build a 2-0 advantage.
•Matt Bezdicek had two of SMSU's five hits in the opener.
•John Bezdicek started on the mound for the Mustangs and struck out eight batters in three innings and allowed one walk.
•In game two, SMSU tied a team record with nine doubles in earning the victory.
•Nathan Kuhn led SMSU's 15-hit attack with three hits and three runs scored, while Kip Gronholz and Derek Smith each collected a pair of hits.
•Jake Wensmann started on the mound for SMSU and fired three shutout innings with five strikeouts, while allowing one walk and two hits in picking up the victory.
-- Content courtesy
of SMSU Athletic
Communications