Leading off

The Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team (8-5, 0-3 NSIC) resumes Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this Thursday with a doubleheader versus St. Cloud State University (8-7).

The two games, originally scheduled for Wednesday in St. Cloud, will now be played at Frerichs Legion Field in Elkhorn, Neb., with the doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

SMSU opened NSIC play this past Sunday and Monday, losing three times to Augustana.

SMSU is averaging 8.2 runs per game this season while batting .322 with 28 doubles, nine triples and seven home runs.

The SMSU pitching staff has a 5.77 ERA with 125 strikeouts in 110 2/3 innings.

SCSU was picked to finish third in the Preseason NSIC Coaches’ Poll.

SMSU’s three-game series versus Wayne State scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday in Marshall will be relocated. Dates and locations for the series are yet to be announced

Series history vs. St. Cloud State

SMSU and SCSU have met 80 times since the 1970 season with SCSU holding a 61-19 all-time advantage.

SCSU holds a 21-4 advantage in non-conference and league games since joining the NSIC in 2009, including sweeping a three-game series last season in Brandon, S.D. SMSU’s last win in the series came in Marshall on May 4, 2019.

Mustang extra bases

Keenan Wenzel is batting .515 in eight games with 17 hits, including three doubles and 12 RBIs. Wenzel had six RBIs in a win over Dakota Wesleyan on March 6 becoming the first SMSU player since 2020 to drive in six runs.

Chase McDaniel has collected a hit in 11 of 12 games played while batting .373 with a team-leading 19 hits.

Owen Latendresse has four multi-RBI games and leads the team with 17 RBIs while batting .321.

McDaniel leads the team with seven multi-hit games, while Wenzel and Latendresse have six each.

Peyton Nash is hitting .462 in seven games with five doubles, 11 RBIs and has collected a team-high five multi-RBI games.

Jaxon Haase is tied for the team lead with three home runs and ranks second with 15 RBIs.

Robbie Smith has four triples, eight hit-by-pitches and has walked five times in 13 games. He tied a school single-game record with two triples versus Malone on March 10.

Isaac Nett ranks second on the team with 18 hits and is tied for the team lead with three home runs.

Max Kalenberg tied a school record with five runs scored in a win over Dakota Wesleyan on March 6. He is the eighth Mustang all-time and the first since the 2004 season to score five runs in a game.

SMSU opened the season winning eight of 10 games at the Tucson Invitational from March 4-13. The 8-2 start following 10 games is the program’s best since beginning the 2009 season with a 9-1 record.

SMSU’s victory on March 10 versus Malone (Ohio) was the 1,000th in program history.

Notes from the bump

Ansen Dulas has a 2.65 ERA in 17 innings in three starts with 13 strikeouts.

Shay Endres tossed 6 1/3 innings to earn his first career victory versus Bemidji State on March 7. He allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts.

Brady Brosz has a 1.50 ERA in six innings with 10 strikeouts and two saves. He tied a career-high with three innings of relief while recording a career-high five strikeouts versus Augustana.

Kolby Kiser struck out a career-high 10 in a victory over Dickinson State on March 13. He leads the team with 26 strikeouts in 13 innings.

Ryan Chimelewski is second on the team with 15 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings.

Theo Giedd, Will Baldus, Brady Petron, Carter Petron and Endres all earned their first career victories during SMSU’s 10-game road trip to Tucson, Ariz.

Dulas, Wenzel earn weekly honors

SMSU senior second baseman Keenan Wenzel and junior right-handed pitcher Ansen Dulas were named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, on March 13.

Wenzel batted .625 with 10 hits in 16 at-bats in four games, with two doubles, a triple, and nine RBI. He finished with 14 total bases, adding a pair of walks and a hit by pitch. He compiled a .684 on-base percentage and a .875 slugging percentage.

Dulas allowed just one hit over seven innings in a 7-0 win over Concordia-St. Paul on March 10. He struck out seven batters and retired 13 straight hitters from the second through sixth innings. He faced just one batter over the minimum in his seven innings of work, while firing just 80 pitches, including 52 for strikes.

Dulas was also named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Central Region Pitcher of the Week on March 15.

Game coverage

Live stats for both games will be available at SMSUmustangs.com.