Photo courtesy of WSC Sports Information SMSU’s Ansen Dulas winds up a pitch during their game against Wayne State on Sunday. SMSU will face Concordia-St. Paul this weekend.

MARSHALL — The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (5-6, 3-4 NSIC) will have its first home games since the 2019 season when the team hosts Concordia-St. Paul (6-8, 2-7 NSIC) this Friday and Saturday for a three-game series at Legion Field in Marshall.

•Friday’s doubleheader (7-9) will begin at 1 p.m., while Saturday’s nine-inning game starts at 12 p.m.

•SMSU last played in Marshall on May 4, 2019, splitting a doubleheader with St. Cloud State at Legion Field.

Game coverage

•Live video and stats for all three games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.

About

Concordia-St. Paul

•CSP, picked eighth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, is 6-8 overall, 2-7 NSIC, following a home loss to St. Cloud State on Tuesday. The Golden Bears enter the weekend on a six-game losing streak.

•Ryan Bastyr leads the Golden Bears batting .297 (11 for 37) with two doubles and seven RBIs, while Matt Pietsch is hitting .283 (13 for 46) with four doubles.

•Through 14 games, CSP is batting .218, with 22 doubles, three home runs, averaging 3.2 runs per game and have a team ERA of 3.96 in 109 innings with 95 strikeouts.

Series history vs. Concordia-St. Paul

•SMSU and CSP have meet 63 times since the 1981 season with CSP holding a 36-27 all-time advantage. CSP joined the NSIC prior to the 2000 season.

•This will be CSP’s first games in Marshall since April 22, 2015.

•CSP holds 15-5 advantage since the 2016 season.

•The two teams played last season splitting a pair of games in Tucson, Ariz.

SMSU

diamond notes

•SMSU split four games at Wayne State last Saturday and Sunday. SMSU lost two of three NSIC games before winning the final game of the series which was considered a non-conference game.

•In the series opener, John Bezdicek fired a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts in seven innings as SMSU won 6-0.

•Matt Bezdicek led the Mustang offense in the win with three hits and three RBIs.

•In the series finale victory, Ansen Dulas won his first career game tossing four innings and allowing one run on four hits with six strikeouts.

•Keenan Wenzel had two hits, an RBI and a run scored in the 7-6 victory.

•John Bezdicek has moved into fifth place in team history with 174 strikeouts. Pat O’Brien (2002-05) and Ryan Morse (2003-05) are tied for third all-time with 190.

SMSU season numbers

•Through 11 games, SMSU is averaging 5.6 runs per game, batting .258 with 17 doubles and three home runs.

•The SMSU pitching staff has a 4.88 ERA in 83 innings with 93 strikeouts.

•Nathan Kuhn is batting a team-high .487 with a team-high five doubles and team-leading 24 total bases. He has a team-high six multi-hit games and has collected at least one hit in nine of 10 games played.

•Matt Bezdicek is hitting .353 with three doubles and two home runs and has a team-high 14 RBIs. He leads the team with five multi-RBI games.

•John Bezdicek has pitched a team-high 14 2/3 innings with a team-high 27 strikeouts. He is 1-0 with a 3.07 ERA with one shutout.

•Jake Wensmann is 2-1 with a 4.35 ERA in 10 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts.

•Teddy Broxterman has pitched in four games, has a 3.86 ERA and is third on the squad with 10 strikeouts.

•Jared Tschetter has appeared in four games and has two saves with a 0.00 ERA in three innings.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications