Summit Play Begins - NDSU at UNO

It's time to get serious about putting the best on the field, because Summit League play starts tonight at 5:00 PM CDT when the Bison face the Mavericks in Omaha. Here is what the team websites have to say about the opener:

From gobison.com - "THIS WEEK
The North Dakota State baseball team (3-13) begins Summit League play with a three-game series at Omaha (2-13) beginning on Friday night at 5:00 p.m.

COVERAGE
All three games will feature live statistics and be available on the Summit League Network for subscribers.

THE SERIES VS. OMAHA
This will be the 104th all-time meeting between NDSU and Omaha dating back to 1978 with the Bison leading the series, 55-48. Both teams are 5-5 over the last 10 meetings after NDSU earned a 7-6 win in extra innings against Omaha in an elimination game in the Summit League Tournament last season.

WELCOME TO SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAY
NDSU is set to begin Summit League play for the second Scouting North Dakota State
NDSU begins the week at 3-11 after dropping their final two games at SLU. Before coming to Omaha, they will wrap up their Louisiana trip with two at LSU to start the week.

Outfielder Colten Becker leads the Bison with a .382 AVG and a 1.151 OPS. Rookie infielder Jake Schaffner is right behind him with a .300 AVG, while senior James Dunlap leads the team with two home runs and 12 RBIs.

Nolan Johnson has been NDSU' top starter with a 3.32 ERA, 23 Ks, and a .176 BAA, while fellow starters Logan Knight (6.62 ERA) and Landon Koenig (9.37 ERA) have struggled early on. The Bison bullpen has also struggled this year, with Skyler Riedinger boasting the lowest ERA at 7.04.

Head Coach Tyler Oakes is in his third season in charge of the Bison. He was named Summit League Coach of the Year after guiding NDSU to a Regular Season title in 2022 with a 30-17 record.straight season at Omaha. Last season, the Bison entered Summit League play with a 3-17 overall record before winning the series after taking the finale, 7-2, against the Mavericks. The Bison went on to finish with a 16-7 mark in Summit League play."

And this from the Mavericks Baseball website -

"Scouting North Dakota State
NDSU begins the week at 3-11 after dropping their final two games at SLU. Before coming to Omaha, they will wrap up their Louisiana trip with two at LSU to start the week.

Outfielder Colten Becker leads the Bison with a .382 AVG and a 1.151 OPS. Rookie infielder Jake Schaffner is right behind him with a .300 AVG, while senior James Dunlap leads the team with two home runs and 12 RBIs.

Nolan Johnson has been NDSU' top starter with a 3.32 ERA, 23 Ks, and a .176 BAA, while fellow starters Logan Knight (6.62 ERA) and Landon Koenig (9.37 ERA) have struggled early on. The Bison bullpen has also struggled this year, with Skyler Riedinger boasting the lowest ERA at 7.04.

Head Coach Tyler Oakes is in his third season in charge of the Bison. He was named Summit League Coach of the Year after guiding NDSU to a Regular Season title in 2022 with a 30-17 record."

Hmmmm... Let's see what the Mavericks can do against our "struggling" pitching staff. LET'S GO BISON!!

Not sure what the delay is, but I am not getting the feed from Summit or stats from Sidearm. The match-up has Nolan Johnson (1-0) on the mound for the Herd vs Charlie Bell (0-1) for Omaha.
It's all up and running now, and Schwabe draws a leadoff walk but is caught stealing, and Bell faces the minimum in the top of the 1st. The Mavericks get 2 singles off of Johnson, but strand both runners and it's 0-0 after 1 inning of play. The score remained that way until the top of the 4th, when Jake Schaffner led off with a single to center and James Dunlap followed with a double down the left field line to drive in the 1st run of the game. 1-0 Bison. The Bison get 1 more in the 5th when Garret Hill led off the inning with a solo HR to left. 2-0 Herd after 5 innings. Omaha starter Charlie Bell finished the 6th with his 96th pitch of the game. That could be it for him. We'll see what the Omaha coaches have to say in the 7th.
Omaha gets on the board with a leadoff HR by Grant Sommers in the bottom of the 6th, but that's all they get. Louthan on in relief for the Mavericks and Garret Hill gives the Bison some breathing room in the top of the 7th with a 2-run dinger to left and a 3 run NDSU lead. Time for our bullpen to step up, as Skylar Riedinger comes on to pitch the eighth. He does his job and he will turn it over to Joey Danielson to close things up in the bottom of the ninth. He does and it's a 4-1 Bison win!!

NDSU (4-13): 4 runs on 8 hits, with no errors and 5 LOB
Omaha: (2-14): 1 runs on 6 hits, with no errors and 5 LOB

Batteries:
Bison - Nolan Johnson Skylar Riedinger (8), Joey Danielson (9) and Will Busch
Mavericks - Charlie Bell, Ethan Louthan (7), Nick Scanlon (9) and Trent Burkhalter

WP: Nolan Johnson (2-0)
LP: Charlie Bell (0-2)
Save: Joey Danielson (2)

Homeruns:
Bison - Garret Hill (1) - solo to left in the 5th inning, Garret Hill (2) - 2 run to left in the 7th inning
Lions -Grant Sommers (1) - solo to left in the 6th inning

NDSU: Garret Hill 2-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, James Dunlap 2-4, 2B, 1 RBI
UNO: Noah Greise 2-4, Grant Sommers HR, 1 RBI

Game 2 of the series is set for 2:00 PM CDT on Saturday March 16, at Tal Anderson Field in Omaha, NE

Game 2 of this 3-game series gets underway with Logan Knight (0-2) on the hill for the Herd vs SR Caleb Riedel (1-4) for the Mavericks.
Scoreless first inning followed by the Mavericks breaking thru in the bottom of the second with 2 doubles to grab a 1-0 lead. The Bison come back in the top of the fourth with a double by Jake Schaffner and an RBI single by Carson Hake to tie the game at one each. Two more doubles by Omaha plate a run in the bottom half of the inning and it's 2-1 Mavs after four complete. Kyle Law has a lead-off double for the Herd, Will Busch moves him to third with a deep fly to center, and Luis Garcia brings him home with a double down the right field line, and we are even at 2 two. Garcia moves to 3rd on a wild pitch and Jake Schaffner sends him home with his second hit of the game, 3-2 Bison. First Bison lead of the day.
Logan Knight has lost his mojo to start the bottom of the 5th, surrendering a leadoff double, a groundball single, and a sacrifice fly to allow Omaha to pull even with the Herd. A pair of singles and a walk load the bases with 2 out and a call goes out to the bullpen for Reese Ligtenberg to come in and put out the fire. He does. All tied up at 3 - 3 after five innings. The Bison load the bases in the top of the 6th, but the Omaha bullpen returns the favor as Joe Hackman comes in to strikeout Will Busch and end the rally. The Bison open the 7th with a pair of walks and a bunt single to load the bases with no one out. Carson Hake puts the Bison in the lead with a 1-out single and it's 4-3 Herd. The Mavericks escape without further damage and it's 4-3 NDSU at the stretch.
Austin Bergem on to pitch for the Bison in the 7th. A walk and 2 doubles score a pair and Omaha takes a 5-4 lead after 7 innings. The Mavericks break it open with 2 runs in the eighth inning and Hunter Rosenbaum relieves Bergem with the bases loaded and 2 out and ends the rally with a flyout to right. We head into the top of the ninth trailing 7-4 with the top of the order coming to the plate.

NDSU (4-14) (1-1): 4 runs on 9 hits, with no errors and 8 LOB
Omaha: (3-14) (1-1): 7 runs on 13 hits, with no errors and 10 LOB

Batteries:
Bison - Logan Knight, Reese Ligtenberg (5), Austin Bergem (7) and Will Busch
Mavericks - Caleb Riedel, Joe Hackman (6), Luke Gainer (8) and Trent Burkhalter

WP: Joe Hackman (1-0)
LP: Austin Bergem (0-1)
Save: Luke Gainer (2)

Homeruns:
Bison -None
Mavericks: - None

NDSU: Jake Schaffner 3-5, 2B, 1 RBI, Kyle Law 2-4, 2B, Carson Hake 2-3, 2 RBI, Luis Garcia 2B, 1 RBI
UNO: Haiden Hunt 2-4, (2) 2B, 2 RBI, Tyler Bishop 2-3, (2) 2B, 2 RBI, Drew Lechnir 2B, Trent Burkhalter 2B, M Goetzman 2 RBI

Game 3 of the series is set for about 30 minutes after game 2, at Tal Anderson Field in Omaha, NE. I expect the Bison will be up for the series win.

The rubber game of the series has FR Landon Koenig (0-2) pitching for the Bison vs SR Harrison Kreiling (0-0).
The Bison seem focused as the game begins with 2 walks and a 2 run double by Davis Hamilton, who moves to third on a balk and scores on a ground out. It's an early shower for Kreiling as he is replaced by Chris Byhre with 2 out and he closes the inning without further damage. The Mavericks get a pair of their own on a 2-run triple by Tyler Bishop. 3-2 Bison after one. The Mavericks are making good contact on Koenig, who gives up a run scoring triple to tie the game. It was only a matter of time until one of those hard-hit balls would be misplayed, and UNO takes the lead on an error at 3rd base. The Mavs tack on 1 more and lead 5-3 after 2 innings.
This could end up with a football score, as the Bison have the bases loaded with no out, and one run in. Make that 3 runs in as a wild pitch and a single by Kyle law gives the Bison a 6-5 lead. It could have been a bigger inning, as the bases were re-loaded with no outs. But a bunt that turned into a double play and a strikeout with runners on 2nd and 3rd crushed the hope of a big rally. Alex Karns on to pitch for the Bison in the 4th.
What began as a sprint has slowed down to a stroll, as both teams are leaving runners all over the bases. The Mavericks had the best opportunity in the bottom of the 7th when they loaded the bases with 2 out, but in one of those "only in baseball" moments, a smash that was headed for extra bases in the left field corner hit the base-runner (who should NOT have been running in fair territory) for the 3rd out of the inning and the end of the rally. Still 6-5 going into 8th. A walk, a bunt single, and a wild pitch put Bison on 2nd and 3rd with zero outs. So, bases are loaded with 1 out and a reliever with a 17.47 ERA strikes out the clean-up hitter Carson Hake and gets a Houdini play from his 2nd baseman on a liner by Garret Hill and the Bison return the favor, leaving the bases loaded in the eighth.
Skylar Riedinger comes in and looks like the 2023 model to put the Mavericks down 1-2-3. We are into the ninth still leading by 1 run. Call Jake at State Farm and get some insurance. Kyle Law singles to lead off the inning and NDSU gets an RBI triple of their own by Sam Canton. Jack Steil hits a deep sac fly and we have 2 runs in with nobody out, but we fail to add on and leave the bases loaded again. Joey Danielson out to close it up and preserve the win. Looks like he'll have to earn his save, as the Mavs bring the equalizer to the plate before we get the last 2 outs. Bison win 8-5 to capture the series.

NDSU (5-14) (2-1) 8 runs on 11 hits with 1 error and 14 LOB
Omaha: (3-15) (1-2): 5 runs on 9 hits, with 3 errors and 7 LOB

Batteries:
Bison - Landon Koenig Alex Karns (4) Leland Wilson (6) Seth Thompson (7), Skylar Riedinger (8) and Will Busch
Mavericks - Harrison Kreiling, Chris Byhre (1), Brayden Curtis (3) Reed Scott (7), Matt Dreher (8), Gage Ingram (8) Nick Scanlon (9) and Cardel Dick

WP: Alex Karns (1-0)
LP: Chris Byhre (0-3)
Save: Joey Danielson (3)

Homeruns:
Bison -None
Mavericks: - None

NDSU: Cadyn Schwabe 3-5, Jake Schaffner 2-3, Kyle Law 2-4, Sam Canton 2-4, 3B, 1 RBI, Davis Hamilton 2B, 2 RBI, Carson Hake 1 RBI, Garret Hill, 1 RBI, Jack Steil 1 RBI
UNO: Tyler Bishop 3B, 2 RBI, Matt Goetzmann 2-5, 3B, 1 RBI, Noah Greise 2-4, 2B, 1 RBI, Cardel Dick 2-2

The Bison return to Nebraska on Wednesday to play U of Nebraska in Lincoln at 6:00 PM CDT on the B1G Network.

Bison drop a 3 -1 decision to Nebraska @ Lincoln this evening.

NDSU (5-15) (2-1): 1 run on 6 hits with 1 error and 5 LOB
Nebraska: (15-5): 3 runs on 7 hits, with no errors and 10 LOB

Batteries:
Bison - Keven Trapani, Reese Ligtenberg (3) Leland Wilson (4) Hayden Sylte, (5), Joey Danielson (6), Skylar Riedinger (7) Seth Thompson (8), and Will Busch
Cornhuskers - Will Walsh, Kyle Froelich (7), Jaylen Worthley (8), Rans Sanders (9) and Ben Columbus

WP: Will Walsh (2-0)
LP: Roman Trapani (0-1)
Save: Rans Sanders (1)

Homeruns:
Bison -None
Cornhuskers - None

NDSU: Jake Schaffner 3-4, 3B, 1 RBI
Nebraska: Garrett Anglim 2-3, 2 RBI, Tyler Stone 2-3, Dylan Carey 2B

Next up is a 3-game set at Tulsa with Oral Roberts Friday - Sunday, weather permitting.