Season Opening Series: Bison vs UC Irvine

[Elvis was a Bison]

In less than 72 hours, the Bison begin the season with 3 games in Irvine, California vs the Anteaters, who are ranked #2 in the Big West in the 2024 Preseason Poll. Here is some information from the UCI Athletic Department on the opening series vs the Bison:

UC Irvine Anteaters (0-0, Big West 0-0) vs. North Dakota State Bison (0-0, Summit 0-0)
Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark - Irvine, Calif.

Friday - 6:00 PM (PST)| ESPN+ | KUCI | Live Stats
Saturday - 1:00 PM (PST)| ESPN+ | KUCI | Live Stats
Sunday - 1:00 PM (PST)| ESPN+ | KUCI | Live Stats


2024 Baseball Roster

1 Jo Oyama INF Sr. 5-6 165 L/R Okinawa, Japan / Konan HS Merced College
2 Woody Hadeen INF R-Jr. 6-2 195 S/R Temecula, Calif. / Temecula Valley HS
4 Dub Gleed INF Jr. 6-1 200 R/R Ladera Ranch, Calif. / San Juan Hills HS
5 Caden Kendle OF Sr. 5-11 200 R/R Huntington Beach, Calif. / Marina HS
7 Jacob Stinson OF Sr. 6-1 190 L/R Pleasanton, Calif. / Amador Valley HS University of Nevada
8 Thomas McCaffrey C Sr. 5-11 205 R/R Santa Monica, Calif. / Harvard-Westlake HS
10 Luke Spillane OF Gr. 6-0 195 R/R Trabuco Canyon, Calif / Mission Viejo HS
11 Myles Smith OF Jr. 6-1 205 L/R Torrance, Calif. / Crossroads School
12 David Utagawa RHP R-Jr. 6-4 230 R/R Phoenix, Ariz. / Corona Del Sol HS Northwestern University
13 Nick Pinto LHP Gr. 6-0 185 L/L Coto de Caza, Calif. / Tesoro HS
14 Danny Suarez RHP Jr. 6-4 205 R/R Trabuco Canyon, Calif. / Trabuco Hills HS
15 Finnegan Wall RHP Jr. 6-2 205 R/R Hesperia, Calif. / Sultana HS
16 Will Bermudez INF R-Jr. 5-10 175 S/R Whittier, Calif. / St. Paul HS UC Davis / Mt. San Antonio College
17 Riley Kelly RHP So. 6-5 215 R/R Santa Ana, Calif. / Tustin HS
18 Ricky Tibbett RHP Gr. 6-2 190 R/R Chula Vista, Calif. / Eastlake HS San Diego State
20 Tim Grack RHP / INF Fr. 6-1 185 R/R Fountain Valley, Calif. / Fountain Valley HS
21 Landon Gaz 1B Fr. 6-2 230 R/R Moorpark / Moorpark HS
22 Cameron Wheeler RHP Gr. 6-1 185 R/R Chino Hills, Calif. / Mater Dei HS
23 Frankie Carney INF R-Fr. 5-11 180 L/R San Diego, Calif. / St. Augustine HS
24 Auggie Gutierrez INF So. 5-11 180 R/R Yorba Linda, Calif. / Servite HS
25 James Castagnola INF R-Fr. 6-1 190 R/R San Diego, Calif. / Cathedral Catholic HS
26 Chase Call OF Jr. 6-2 210 R/R Porter Ranch, Calif. / Calabasas HS
27 Brandon Luu LHP Fr. 6-2 220 L/L Irvine, Calif. / Villa Park HS
28 Trevor Hansen RHP Fr. 6-2 195 R/R Simi Valley, Calif. / Royal HS
30 Trevor Wilson OF Fr. 6-2 185 R/R Fresno, Calif. / Bullard HS
31 Dante Zamudio INF / RHP Jr. 6-1 190 R/R Sylmar, Calif. / Grace Brethren HS L.A. Pierce College / West Virginia State
32 David Vizcaino RHP R-Jr. 6-3 225 R/R Chino, Calif. / Don Lugo HS Riverside City College
33 Max Martin RHP So. 6-5 190 R/R Northridge, Calif. / Sierra Canyon HS
34 Abraham Garcia-Pacheco C Sr. 6-0 200 R/R Highland, Calif. / Rancho Cucamonga, HS
35 Michael Pirrello RHP So. 6-2 180 R/R Los Alamitos, Calif. / Los Alamitos HS
36 Andrew Grove RHP Fr. 6-4 210 R/R Orange, Calif. / Villa Park HS
37 Niko Riera RHP R-Fr. 6-4 210 R/R Long Beach, Calif. / St. John Bosco HS
38 Lucas Scott INF Fr. 6-0 175 R/R Long Beach, Calif. / Long Beach Poly HS
39 David Butler RHP Jr. 6-2 180 R/R Riverside, Calif. / Ramona HS Riverside City College
40 Blake Penso C Jr. 6-3 230 R/R Huntington Beach, Calif. / Huntington Beach HS
41 Elliot Joslin RHP So. 6-6 225 R/R Fairfax, Calif. / Archie Williams HS
42 Ryder Brooks LHP R-Fr. 6-2 195 L/L Fountain Valley, Calif. / Fountain Valley HS
43 Ricky Ojeda LHP Fr. 5-11 170 L/L Valencia, Calif. / Valencia HS
44 Nick Rincover LHP Gr. 6-2 210 L/L West Hills, Calif. / El Camino Real Charter HS L.A. Pierce College
45 Holt Williams C / 1B Fr. 6-4 220 R/R Camas, Wash. / Camas HS
55 Anthony Martinez 1B So. 6-3 230 L/R Fairfield, Calif. / De La Salle HS

2024 Baseball Coaching Staff

Ben Orloff Head Coach
Daniel Bibona Assistant Coach
J.T. Bloodworth Assistant Coach
Ryan Johnston Volunteer Assistant Coach

Scouting report will follow later this week!

[Elvis was a Bison]

Today is the Day!! Here are GameDay notes from both school websites:

UCI:

Probable Pitching Matchups
13 Grad. LHP Nick Pinto (7-2, 5.16) FRIDAY vs. 25 So. RHP Parker Puetz (3-0, 2.51)
17 So. RHP Riley Kelly (0-1, 13.50) SATURDAY vs. 20 Jr. RHP Logan Knight (NDSU Debut)
28 Fr. RHP Trevor Hansen (NCAA Debut) SUNDAY vs, 33 Fr. RHP Landon Koenig (NCAA Debut)
All-Time: UCI leads, 1-0 2021 Stanford Regional elimination game June 6, 2021 - UC Irvine 18, NDSU 3 at Irvine: First meeting at CICERONE FIELD

+ UC Irvine baseball begins the season at home for a second straight season and fourth time in the six seasons under head coach Ben Orloff. The ‘Eaters have 27 wins in 45 season openers including a 4-1 mark under coach Orloff since taking over in 2019

+ The Anteaters and North Dakota State have played once before - in the 2021 Stanford Regional Elimination Game with UCI winning 18-3. The schools were also in the 2014 Corvallis Regional but never matched up. UCI all-time is 9-4 against Summit League schools having played NDSU, Oral Roberts, and Northern Colorado.

+ Every Anteater hitter and at-bat from the 2023 season returns to the 2024 roster accounting for 1,869 team at-bats in addition to the return of starting shortstop Woody Hadeen who was injured and missed the entire 2023 campaign.

From GOBISON.com:

IN SEASON OPENERS
For the second straight season, NDSU will begin the season in the state of California. Last season, NDSU played a four-game series against Sacramento State to start the season and dropped the season opener to the Hornets, 5-3.

THE SERIES VS. UC IRVINE
This will be only the second all-time meeting between NDSU and UC Irvine. In the only meeting in 2021 at the NCAA Regional in Stanford, Calif., the then-ranked No. 17 Anteaters plated nine runs over the first two innings to help secure an 18-3 win over the Bison. The loss ended an historic season for NDSU after setting school records for most victories and games played in a season with a 42-29 overall record. UC Irvine enters the week receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

THE CHALLENGING SCHEDULE AHEAD
The Bison are set to embark on a 53-game regular season schedule spanning 10 different states and are scheduled to play the first 28 games away from home. The schedule also features three teams ranked in the D1Baseball Preseason Top 25, including LSU, Oregon State and Iowa.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
The Bison were picked second in the Summit League Preseason Poll after picking up 21 total points and one first place vote. Oral Roberts earned 25 points and five first place votes to take the top spot and South Dakota State closed out the top three in third place with 16 points.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Will Busch and Parker Puetz were named to the Summit League Preseason Players to Watch list. Busch has appeared in 106 games with 93 starts over three seasons. Last season, Busch posted a .252 batting average with 32 hits, 11 doubles and two home runs.

Puetz made 16 appearances with 10 starts on the mound last season. He led the Summit League with a 2.51 ERA in his freshman season and totaled 47 strikeouts over 61.0 innings. The Volga, S.D., native earned a spot on the All-Summit League Second Team and the D1Baseball Freshman All-America Second Team.

RETURNING ALL-SUMMIT LEAGUE PLAYERS
NDSU earned nine All-Summit League selections last season, which was the most since joining the conference in 2008. The Bison return four players from that list this season, including James Dunlap, Cadyn Schwabe, Parker Puetz and Skyler Riedinger after all four grabbed a spot on the All-Summit League Second Team.

PUETZ LANDS ON D1BASEBALL FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM
Parker Puetz made 16 appearances with 10 starts on the mound and boasted a 3-0 overall record in his freshman season. The Volga, S.D., native paced the Summit League with a 2.51 ERA. He tossed 47 total strikeouts over 61.0 innings and held opposing batters to a .187 average in Summit League play. Puetz was one of 10 starting pitchers to be named to the list and was the only Summit League player selected.

SCHWABE SWIPING BAGS AT RECORD PACE
Cadyn Schwabe has flown up the Bison all-time stolen bases list after swiping a team-high 18 in his first season in 2022 and following it up with a team-best 27 last season, which ranked second on the all-time NDSU single-season list. The Thompson, N.D., native currently ranks fifth on the NDSU all-time list with 45 career stolen bases.

GOIN' FOR TWO AND MAKING HISTORY
The Bison ranked second in the Summit League with 116 doubles last season, which is the most in a single-season in NDSU history. NDSU notched at least one double in 44 of 52 games last season.

THE ROAD WARRIORS
The Bison are set to play 37 of 53 regular season games away from home, including the first 28 straight before making their home debut against South Dakota State on April 5.

Last season, NDSU ended up playing its first 38 games on the road after weather forced schedule changes. The Bison went on to play at least one game in seven different states.

BISON PLAY IN BIG TIME VENUES
Under third-year head coach Tyler Oakes, the Bison have made a habit of scheduling a challenging non-conference schedule in preparation of Summit League play and have done it in some of the best venues in college baseball. Last season, NDSU played in front of five of the largest road crowds in program history since 1977. The top five is as follows at Texas on March 15, 2023 (6,522), at Texas on March 14, 2023 (6,457), at Nebraska on May 3, 2023 (5,374), at Texas Tech on April 8, 2023 (4,432) and at Nebraska on March 28, 2023 (4,218).

#PROBISON
NDSU has had seven incoming or current players selected in the MLB Draft since 2013. Cade Feeney became the 13th NDSU player selected in the MLB Draft dating back to 1968 after the Boston Red Sox selected in him in the 13th round last season. Bennett Hostetler was also selected in the 18th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins and most recently earned a spot on the non-roster invitees list for spring training with the Marlins.

WHO'S BACK?
NDSU returns 12 letterwinners this season, including seven starters that played in at least 50 percent of the games last season. The roster also features nine seniors: James Dunlap, Will Busch, Garrett Hill, Jack Steil, Cadyn Schwabe, Hunter Rosenbaum, Carson Hake, Joey Danielson and Colbey Klepper.

WELCOME TO THE SQUAD
The Bison welcome 19 newcomers this season: Noah Gordon, Blake Timmons, Jake Schaffner, Sam Canton, Luis Garcia, Matt Sargeant, Roman Trapani, Colten Becker, Aiden Schenk, Logan Knight, Julien Hachem, Ben Soke, Ben Berkhof, Seth Thompson, Landon Koenig, Colbey Klepper, Cole Mahlum, Alex Karns and Austin Bergum.

UP NEXT
The Bison will continue their California road trip at Long Beach State on Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 8:00 p.m. CT

[ndsubison1]

Some of these swings. Woof.

[ndsubison1]

Irvine starting pitch out. He had some nasty breakers. Bison down 6-2 heading to the bot of 6th.

[Elvis was a Bison]

Bison lose opener 14-2. I'll have the box score up in the morning.

[Elvis was a Bison]

The season opener was kind of what you would expect from a northern team playing outdoors for the 1st time in a season against a team that has been in the open air for a longer period of time. The early stages of the game were interesting, as both starting pitchers were effective. The Anteaters took advantage of an unfortunate balk by Bison hurler Parker Puetz to score 1st in the bottom of the first. Parker had runners on second and third with 2 outs and a 1 ball - 2 strike count on the batter when the balk occurred. That was followed by an RBI single to give Irvine a 2-0 led after one. UCI scored 1 in the second inning before Puetz was forced to leave the game with an injury. He was replaced by Hunter Rosenbaum, who faced 1 batter to retire the side.
NDSU trailed 6-0 before they scored 2 in the top of the 4th when singles by Davis Hamilton and James Dunlap and a walk to Jack Steil to load the bases with no one out, giving the Bison faithful a glimmer of hope. Colton Becker delivered a two RBI single, but Anteater starter Nick Pinto toughened up, striking out the final 2 batters with the bases loaded to end the rally. The Bison bats went silent and Irvine was tough on the Bison bullpen, as the evening became an opportunity to get some work for the Tyler Oakes' pitching staff, The 14-2 final was the result of 2 big innings for the Anteaters.

NDSU (0-1): 2 runs on 8 hits, with 1 error and 8 LOB
UC Irvine (1-0): 14 runs on 15 hits, with no errors and 10 LOB

Batteries:
Bison - Parker Puetz, Hunter Rosenbaum (2), Alex Karns (3), Leland Wilson (5), Hayden Sylte (8) and Will Busch
Anteaters: Nick Pinto, Ryder Brooks (6), Cameron Wheeler (7), Ricky Ojeda (9) and Thomas McCaffrey

WP: Nick Pinto (1-0)
LP: Parker Puetz (0-1)

Homeruns:
Bison: None
Anteaters: Thomas McCaffrey (1) - grand slam to left in the 8th.

NDSU: Colton Becker 3-4, 2 RBI. Sam Canton 2B
UC Irvine: Caden Kendle 2-2, 2B, 1 RBI, 3 Runs, Miles Smith 2-3 2B, 2 RBI, Thomas McCaffrey 1-2, HR, 4 RBI, Luke Spillane 2-4, 2B, 3B, Jo Oyama 2-4, 2B, 1 RBI, Woody Hadeen 2-4, 1 RBI, Anthony Martinez 2-6

Next up @ 3:00 PM CST Bison Logan Knight vs UCI's Riley Kelly in game 2 of the series (on ESPN+).

[Elvis was a Bison]

Don't know what happened to my game summary, but Bison lose 7-2 today. Complete story floating in cyberspace somewhere.

[Elvis was a Bison]

Game 3 and we'll try again. It would be great to grab the get-away game and if we can get some veteran bats going, we may have a chance in this battle of Freshmen pitchers. And just like that, the Bison score 1 in the top of the first and have their first lead of the season. Koenig holds the Anteaters to one hit in the bottom half and it's 1-0 Bison after 1 inning. The long ball bites the Bison in the third with a 3-run bomb by Martinez and a 2-run shot by Oyama, and it's 5-1 UCI after 3. The Bison chase the UIC starter with a pair in the top of the 4th, but a double play ends the rally. The Bison are leaving too many runners on base. UIC gets 1 off Riedinger in the 6th, and it's 7 - 3 after 6 innings. 3 More in the bottom of the 7th and the fat lady is warming up her pipes. UCI 10 - Bison 4 final.

NDSU (0-2): 4 runs on 12 hits, with x error and 9 LOB
UC Irvine (2-0): 10 runs on 10 hits, with 1 error and 8 LOB

Batteries:
Bison - Landon Koenig Julien Hachem (4) Reese Ligtenberg (5), Skylar Riedinger (6) Colbet Klepper, (7) Joey Danielson (7) and Will Busch
Anteaters: Trevor Hansen, Tim Grack (4) Ryder Brooks (5), Ricky Tibbet (7), David Vizcaino (9) and Abraham Garcia-Pacheco

WP: Tim Grack (1-0)
LP: Landon Koenig (0-1)

Homeruns:
Bison - None
Anteaters - Anthony Martinez (1) 3-run to right in the 3rd, Jo Oyama 2-run to right in the 3rd.

NDSU: Jack Steil 3-4, 2 2B, Kyle Law 2-4, 1 RBI, Sam Canton 2-4, 2B, James Dunlap 2-5, 1 RBI, Cadyn Schwabe 3B, Colton Becker 1 RBI.
UC Irvine: Anthony Martinez 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, Jo Oyama 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, Caden Kendle 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, Luke Spillane 2-3, 2B, 1 RBI, Woody Hadeen 2-4, 1 RBI,

It's a sweep for the Anteaters, and the Bison are off to a Tuesday evening date with Long Beach State at 8 PM CST (ESPN+)

[Elvis was a Bison]

This evening's contest with Long Beach State has been cancelled due to rain and will not be made up. The next action for the Bison will be Wednesday, February 21st vs Cal Poly at 7:00 PM CST. (ESPN+)

[Elvis was a Bison]

Here a brief preview of the Cal Poly baseball program:

2024 Cal Poly Baseball Roster
NO. NAME B/T CL. POS. HT. WT. EXP. HOMETOWN / HIGH SCHOOL (COLLEGE)
55 Joe Yorke L/R Sr. INF 6-3 270 4V Campbell, CA / Archbishop Mitty HS (Boise State)
4 Jakob Wright L/L R-So. LHP 6-0 170 1V Paso Robles, CA / Paso Robles HS
45 Josh Volmerding L/L Fr. LHP 6-4 200 HS Santa Rosa, CA / Maria Carrillo Pumas
32 Carson Turnquist R/R So. RHP 6-5 240 1V Paso Robles CA / Paso Robles HS (Oklahoma)
35 Jacob Torres L/L Jr. LHP 5-11 185 2V Fair Oaks CA / Bella Vista HS (Sierra JC)
48 Evan Tomlinson R/R Sr. RHP 6-4 210 3V Walnut Creek, CA / Northgate HS
17 Braxton Thomas L/L Fr. OF 6-2 220 HS Patterson, CA / Central Catholic HS
20 Jake Steels R/R Sr. OF 6-0 185 1V Santa Maria, CA / Righetti HS (Hancock College)
7 Ryan Stafford R/R Jr. C 5-10 180 2V Folsom, CA / Folsom HS
41 Tate Shimao R/R So. OF 6-0 190 1V Honolulu, HI / Rancho Cucamonga HS
6 Tanner Sagouspe R/R R-So. RHP 6-0 200 2V Madera, CA / San Joaquin Memorial HS
44 Charlie Royle R/R So. RHP 6-2 190 1V Long Beach, CA / Wilson HS
40 Freddy Rodriguez R/R So. RHP 6-3 195 1V Sacramento, CA / River City HS
46 Caden Pearlman L/L Fr. LHP 6-3 200 HS San Diego, CA / La Costa Canyon HS
27 Griffin Naess R/R Fr. RHP 6-6 190 HS Laguna Beach, CA / Laguna Beach High
1 Casey Murray Jr. R/R Jr. OF 6-2 185 2V Riverside, CA / Orange Vista HS (Riverside City College)
37 Paul Montgomery R/R Fr. RHP 6-4 215 HS San Jose, CA / Bellarmine Prep
38 Ethan Marmie R/R Fr. RHP 6-7 225 HS Morgan Hill, CA / Ann Sobrato HS
24 Liam MacDonald R/R Jr. INF 6-5 235 2V Brisbane, Australia / Iona College Brisbane (Odessa College, TX)
49 Noah Larkin L/L Jr. LHP 6-3 190 2V Pacifica, CA / Burlingame HS
31 Luke Kovach L/L Fr. LHP 6-1 175 2V Lompoc CA / Cabrillo HS (Allan Hancock JC)
11 Dylan Kordic L/R Jr. OF 6-3 210 2V San Pedro, CA / San Pedro HS (Golden West College)
23 Dylan Knowles S/R Jr. OF 6-1 190 2V Manhattan Beach CA / Mira Costa HS (El Camino College)
28 Wyatt King R/R So. OF 5-9 180 1V San Mateo, CA / St. Francis HS
15 Cam Hoiland L/L Jr. OF/LHP 6-2 205 2V Renton, WA / Kentridge HS (Bellevue College)
16 Mack Higuchi R/R Jr. C 5-10 195 2V Aiea, HI / Mid-Pacific Institute (Feather River Community College)
5 Alejandro Garza R/R Fr. INF 5-9 165 Bakersfield, CA / Highland HS
43 Owen Firestone R/R R-Fr. C 6-1 190 RS Alameda, CA / Alameda HS
8 Ryan Fenn R/R R-Jr. INF 5-10 170 1V El Cajon, CA / Granite Hills HS (Cuesta College)
19 Christopher Downs R/L Fr. LHP 6-7 215 HS Santa Clarita, CA / Hart HS
14 Zach Daudet R/R Jr. INF 6-3 200 2V San Diego CA / Clairemont HS (Regis University)
26 Jake Cross R/R R-Fr. RHP 6-3 215 RS Alameda, CA / Alameda HS
25 Evan Cloyd R/R So. INF 6-1 210 1V Bakersfield, CA / Bakersfield Christian HS
2 Aaron Casillas R/R Sr. INF 5-8 175 1V Mission Viejo, CA / Mission Viejo HS (CSU Bakersfield)
33 Reece Bueno R/R Fr. RHP 6-0 190 HS Visalia CA / Redwood HS
12 Kemet Brown S/R R-Jr. INF 5-9 170 1V Elk Grove, CA / Elk Grove HS (San Joaquin Delta College)
36 Steven Brooks R/R Jr. RHP 6-6 205 2V Elk Grove, CA / Cosumnes Oaks HS
47 Ryan Baum R/R R-Sr. RHP 6-4 180 1V Los Altos, CA / Los Altos HS (College of San Mateo)

Current Record 1-2
vs Missouri - W 3-2
vs Missouri - L 3-1
vs Missouri - L 12-8

The following from Cal Poly athletic webpage:

"SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Following a very competitive three game series against Missouri this past weekend to open the 2024 season, Cal Poly remains at home to welcome North Dakota State to Baggett Stadium Wednesday.

First pitch against the Bison (0-3) is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. Tickets for games Mondays-Thursday, including this Wednesday, are as low as $5 for general admission and can be purchased at GoPoly.com/Tickets. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and locally on ESPN Radio 1280/104.3. Links to those as well as live stats can be found on the schedule page.

It was an abbreviated opening series of the 2024 season for Cal Poly due to the rain as the Mustangs played a doubleheader Friday before the rare 9 a.m. start time Saturday. What was originally supposed to be a four-game series Friday through Monday turned into a three-game series Friday and Saturday.

Cal Poly won the opener on Friday 3-2 behind a solid outing from Mustang starting pitcher Jakob Wright. Wright tossed 6 2/3 innings, giving up just one run while striking out five. Junior left fielder Dylan Kordic accounted for two RBIs while senior center fielder Jake Steels brought in the other run.

The Mustangs fell in the next two games, 3-1 and 12-8. However, several strong performances were turned in by Cal Poly players. In the second game of the doubleheader Friday, junior starting pitcher Steven Brooks struck out a career-high 12 batters over seven innings.

In the series finale Saturday, Steels and senior first baseman Joe Yorke each had three hits. Yorke also had two RBIs which moved him into ninth in Cal Poly program history for career RBIs.

Through the first three games, Steels is hitting .455 after going 5-11. Kordic is hitting .500 while sophomore Evan Cloyd is hitting .571 after going 4-7. Freshman Alejandro Garza got the start at second base all three games, knocking in three RBIs which led the Mustangs in the series.

North Dakota State, who will face Long Beach State Tuesday night, lost their first three games of the season against UC Irvine over the weekend. In 2023, they were 23-30 overall and 16-7 in Summit League play, making it to the semifinals of the Summit League Championships."