Western Illinois visits the Bison in Home Opener

[Elvis was a Bison]

Miracle of Miracles, it looks like it is going to happen!! WIU vs the Bison at Newman Outdoor Field for a 3-game Summit League series. Here are what the respective team websites have as a preview:

From goleathernecks.com:

"Scouting North Dakota State
North Dakota State comes into this Summit League series with a 12-26 overall record. Last weekend they took on Oral Roberts in a three-game set, taking game two against the Summit League Leader. NDSU is in third place in the Summit League with a 7-5 record. North Dakota State won its midweek matchup with Minnesota this past Tuesday.

Last Time Out
Western Illinois traveled to Saint Louis on Tuesday, squaring up with the Billikens. WIU, you jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. Brian Erbe would have a two-run single in the top of the second to give WIU an early 2-0 lead. Jake Allgeyer would tack on three more runs in the third inning with a three-run homer to right center field. The home run was Allgeyer's first in April and first since the Oral Roberts series at the end of March.

Bullpen Bell
Jack Bell made three appearances out of the bullpen this past weekend. He finished with a weekend stat line of 6.2 innings pitched, striking out nine batters and allowing just three hits and one walk. Bell did not give up a run all weekend. With those three appearances, Bell moves up to 20 on the season, just 11 back of tying his record for appearances in a season. Career-wise, Bell is nine appearances away from breaking the record for most appearances in a Leatherneck jersey.

Leathernecks Stat Leader
Nick Mitchell remains at the top of offensive categories for the Leathernecks. The former Summit League All-Freshman teamer leads WIU in batting avg (.403), OPS (1.145), runs (28), hits (50), doubles (11), triples (5), HR (3), total bases (80), SLG% (.645), walks (24) OB% (.500).

Getting on Base
Nick Mitchell has stayed a getting on base machine. In the three-game series against Northern Colorado, Mitchell reached base safely eight times in 12 at-bats. Mitchell collected four hits and four walks on the weekend. Mitchell continued that success at Saint Louis, collecting two hits in his four at-bats. Mitchell has reached base in his last 17 games with his successful week. On the season, Mitchell has played only two games where he has yet to safely make it to first base.

Summit League Success
Jack Bell has been dominant through the first nine games of conference play. Bell sits atop the Summit League in Summit League opponent batting averages. Bell leads the conference through nine games in conference play as he has held hitters to a .154 batting average.

Up Next
WIU returns to Alfred D. Boyer Stadium on Tuesday (May 2) for a mid-week clash with the Lindenwood Lions. After WIU takes on the Lions, they travel to Omaha for a three-game Summit League series with the Mavericks.

From gobison.com;

"THIS WEEK
After playing its first 38 games on the road, the North Dakota State (12-26, 7-5 Summit) baseball team is set to make its home debut hosting Western Illinois (5-30, 2-7 Summit) in a three-game series beginning on Friday at Newman Outdoor Field. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

COVERAGE
GoBison.com: Live statistics and video links are available on GoBison.com. The series will also be available on Bison 1660 with Andy Rieckhoff on the call.

LAST TIME OUT
NDSU scored five runs in the fourth inning to roll past Minnesota, 10-3, on Tuesday night. The Bison totaled nine hits as a team. Peter Brookshaw led way posting a game-high three RBI with two hits and two runs. Max Loven made his 54th career start on the mound to set the NDSU program record for games started by a pitcher. He registered two strikeouts with one walk over 2.0 innings of work. Zak Endres and Nolan Johnson (2-2) also added two strikeouts over 2.0 innings each. NDSU had six different pitchers appear on the mound and combine for seven total strikeouts.

BISON IN LEAGUE PLAY
NDSU has fought its way through a tough non-conference schedule this season and has put together a 7-5 record in conference play. The Bison have won three of the first four series this season in Summit League play and currently sit in third place. James Dunlap has notched a team-best .372 batting average in conference play with 16 hits and a team-best 14 RBI.

THE SERIES VS. WESTERN ILLINOIS
This will be the 87th all-time meeting between NDSU and Western Illinois dating back to 2005 with the Bison leading the series, 46-40. In their most recent meeting last season, the Leathernecks edged the Bison, 6-3, in the regular season finale at Newman Outdoor Field.

LOOKING AHEAD
NDSU will travel to Nebraska on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m"

[Elvis was a Bison]

Game 1 vs Western Illinois University finally gave the local fans a chance to see the Bison up close and personal, and the Bison didn't disappoint them. They score 5 in the 3rd inning and never look back as they out-hit the WIU offense 12 to 5, and stole 5 bases in 6 attempts in the mercy-rule shut-out victory. Cade Feeney was sharp on the mound again, as he held the Leathernecks scoreless through 7 2/3 innings while allowing only 5 hits, walking 1 and striking out 5, before giving way to Joey Danielson in the 8th inning. Bison 10 - Leathernecks 0

WIU (5-31) (2-8): no Runs on 5 hits with no errors and 7 LOB
NDSU (13-26) (8-5): 10 Runs on 12 hits with 3 errors and 9 LOB

Batteries:

NDSU: Cade Feeney, Joey Danielson (8) and Will Busch
WIU: Jake Armstrong, Cam Howard (6), Jackson Burk (7), Eric Cunning (8), Chase Golden (8) and Adam Juran

WP: Cade Feeney (5-4)
LP: Jake Armstrong (2-5)

Homeruns:
NDSU - None.
WIU - None.

NDSU: James Dunlap 4-5, 3 RBI. Terrell Huggins 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI. Cadyn Schwabe 2-4, 1 RBI. Druw Sackett 2 RBI. Davis Hamilton 2B. Jack Steil 1 RBI
WIU: Derek Botaletto 2-4

Game 2 of the series at 2:00 PM CDT at Newman Outdoor Field. Tyler Kapraun on the hill for the Leathernecks vs Tristen Roehrich for the Bison.

[Elvis was a Bison]

Game 2 has Newman Outdoor Field working hard to dodge the rain showers in the Valley to begin on time. Tristan Roehrich got the start for the Bison against the visiting Leathernecks, who mounted a mini rally with 2 out in the inning. and use an error on the Bison, a single, a wild pitch, and a walk to load the bases, before a Roehrich strikeout ended the top of the 1st inning without any damage. WIU was not as fortunate, as the Bison batted around and used 6 hits, including 2 doubles, a triple, and a homerun, to produce their third 5-run inning of the series. NDSU 5 - WIU 0 after 1 inning, and march was on!! It was another short outing for the Leathernecks' starter and questionable bullpen depth contributed to the Bison hit parade. Another mercy rule result, with the Bison dominating the Leathernecks 13 - 3

WIU (5-32) (2-9): 3 Runs on 6 hits with no errors and 10 LOB
NDSU (14-26) (9-5): 13 Runs on 14 hits with 1 error and 10 LOB

Batteries:

NDSU: Tristan Roehrich, Zak Endres (6) Reese Ligtenberg (7) and Stephen Lund
WIU: Tyler Kapraun, Chase Golden (2) Cade Herrmann (4) Ethan Alexander (5) and Adam Juran

WP: Tristan Roerich (4-5)
LP: Tyler Kapraun (2-6)

Homeruns:
NDSU - Jack Steil (3) - solo in the 1st inning. Druw Sackett (10) - 2-run to right center in the 3rd. Peter Brookshaw (11) - 2-run to right field in the 4th inning.
WIU - None.

NDSU: Druw Sackett 3-3, HR, 2B, 4 RBI. James Dunlap 2-3, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI. Peter Brookshaw 3-4, HR, 2 RBI. Jack Steil 2-4, HR, 1 RBI. Cadyn Schwabe 2-3, 1 RBI. Cameron Hake 2b. Terrell Huggins 1 RBI.
WIU: Jake Allgeyer 2-4, 2 RBI. Chase VanDerGinst 2-3. Nick Mitchell 1 RBI.

Game three set for Sunday with first pitch at 1:00 PM CDT. Bring out the brooms!!!

[Elvis was a Bison]

Game 3 is at hand, and a Bison win and a sweep of the Jacks by ORU will put the Bison 3 games up in the loss column and solidify their hold on the #2 spot in the Summit League standings. To quote another poster who is familiar to us all.... "LET"S GOOOO!!!"
Emerging starter Parker Puetz (0-0, 3.43 ERA) on the bump for the Bison vs the Leathernecks' Caden Kratz (0-3, 8.27 ERA). The Bison plate 2 in the first for the early lead and go 1-2-3 for first time in the series in the 2nd before sending the minimum to the plate again in the 3rd inning. WIU scratched out a run in the top of the 4th before the Bison use a single, a double, a wild pitch, another double, a walk, a sacrifice bunt, a ground out, and another single before a strikeout ends the 4-run inning for the Herd. 6-1 Bison after 4 frames. The hit parade continued in the 5th and the Bison scored 9 runs, as James Dunlap completed a rare feat with TWO 2-run homeruns in the inning. The Bison join today's wind in a 21-3 blowout!

WIU (5-33) (2-10): 3 Runs on 6 hits with 3 errors and 5 LOB
NDSU (15-26) (10-5): 21 Runs on 16 hits with 0 errors and 4 LOB

Batteries:

NDSU: Parker Puetz, Skylar Riedinger (7) and Will Busch
WIU: Caden Kratz, Jack Bell (4) Aron Harrington (6), Cam Howard (6) and Adam Juran

WP: Parker Puetz (1-0)
LP: Caden Kratz (0-4)

Homeruns:
NDSU - James Dunlap (4) - 2-run to right in the 5th inning. James Dunlap (5) - 2-run to right in the 5th inning
WIU - None.HR

NDSU: James Dunlap 3-4, 2HR, 5 RBI. Terrell Huggins 3-4, 2B, 1 RBI. Jack Steil 3-5, 2 2B, 4 RBI. Druw Sackett 2-3, 3 RBI. Cadyn Schwabe 2-4, 2B, 4 RBI. Davis Hamilton 1 RBI. Carson Hake 1 RBI. Peter Brookings 1 RBI
WIU: Jake Allgeyer 2-3. Derek Botaletto 2-3. Adam Juran 2 RBI. Ricky Pospisil 1 RBI.

The Bison have their longest winning streak of the season at 3 games as the friendly confines of Newman Outdoor Field welcome the Road Warriors back to Fargo. It would be appropriate to find an Oldies station and request Carl Giammarese and the Buckinghams to belt out Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, as the Bison offense stacked a ton of runs on the board this weekend. The numbers don't lie, as the Bison scored 44 runs on 42 hits, while taking 27 walks, though only batting in 18 innings in the weekend series.

Up next is a mid-week single game at Nebraska on Wednesday, May 3rd starting @ 6:30 CDT, followed by a Summit League series at Greeley vs UNC on Friday -Saturday-Sunday May 5th - 7th.

[roadwarrior]

Bison 44 WIU 6 in the series

[tony]

Bison 44 WIU 6 in the series

Yikes... almost the same margin as the football game!